De Rotterdam, providing 160,000 square meters of useable space,will reach a height of 150 meters making it the largest block ofits kind in the Netherlands. It has been conceived as a verticalcity with three interconnected mixed-use towers accommodatingoffices, apartments, a hotel, conference facilities, a gym, shops,restaurants and cafés.

The towers are part of the ongoing redevelopment of the old portdistrict of Wilhelminapier, adjacent to the Erasmus Bridge, and aimto restore the vibrant urban activity once familiar in theneighbourhood. De Rotterdam is named after one of the ships of theHolland America Line, which in decades past departed from theWilhelminapier carrying thousands of European emigrants to theUS.

MAB and OVG secured financing in partnership with Rabobank. Asubstantial fall in building and materials costs amid the economiccrisis helped breathe new life into the plans after 10 years on thedrawing board, the companies said. The project has a constructionlead time of 45 months and is scheduled for completion in 2013. Itwill create over a thousand new jobs during the construction phaseand hundreds more once the building is finished.