KBC finds alternative accommodation for most staff and 'residents' working in the KBC Tower in Antwerp
KBC announced on 8 February that the KBC Tower would undergo a substantial renovation over the next two years in order to render it future-proof and also remove the concealed remnants of asbestos from the past that have been found in the building. Consequently, the building will be gradually and totally cleared in the months ahead. According to independent experts, no KBC employees, other users or visitors to the building have been or are being put at any risk.
Starting this summer (no later than 1 July) and during the (entire) duration of the works, staff and ‘residents’ will be moved either to other KBC buildings or to premises elsewhere in the city that KBC will rent while the works are in progress.
Today, KBC is in a position to provide more information on where most of the building's residents will be re-located:
- The corporate banking branch will move to the vacant KBC Antwerpen Haven premises at Brouwersvliet 39, 2000 Antwerp.
- The vault area and the underground car park will remain accessible to clients during the works.
- Most support services will be re-housed in rented premises located close to Berchem train station (Roderveldlaan 4, 2600 Berchem). Several other services will move to the KBC premises in Mechelen or to a number of smaller KBC branches in Antwerp.
- KBC Live (the remote bank-insurance branch) will move into rented premises (the Engie building) in the 'Kievit' quarter beside Antwerp Central Station.
- KBC has also ensured that the two commercial businesses located at street level can remain open, if the owners want that.
Discussions are ongoing to find a solution for a number of other 'residents'. KBC hopes to conclude the negotiations in the near future for:
- The retail banking branch and its self-service terminal (ATM) lobby, the private banking branch, and the Omnia travel agency.
- The start-up businesses, which via Start it @kbc have been accommodated at no charge on various floors of the building for a number of years.
