Container accommodation for international students on Suikerunie premises

A total of 249 temporary container apartments will be placed on the premises of what used to be the Suikerunie sugar factory. This was decided on Friday 20 July. The Mayor and Aldermen of Groningen previously decided to grant the STOH BV consortium a EUR 600,000 loan from the Stimuleringsfonds Volkshuisvesting to enable this project. The container units are the result of intensive collaboration between the University of Groningen (UG), Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (Hanze UAS) and the Municipality of Groningen in the field of housing for international students.

The units were developed by STOH BV, a consortium comprising several companies that reside on the Suikerunie premises, including architectural firm De Unie Architecten and developer Rizoem. The units will be available from October and will remain in place for no more than ten years. An agreement has been made with the landlord that temporary accommodation will be made available from the start of the academic year for students who are interested in renting one of the Suikerunie units. Combinations of temporary accommodation + Suikerunie accommodation will be offered via www.athomeingroningen.com from mid-August.

Arranging accommodation for international students

Groningen continues to be very popular among foreign students. The 249 temporary units will only partly meet the increasing need for accommodation for international students. The Municipality of Groningen, the UG and Hanze UAS are doing their utmost to help students find a place to live and to increase the number of housing options for international students. The joint ambition is to find at least 500 and possibly up to 1000 student rooms. The Suikerunie premises makes an important contribution towards achieving this goal.

In the Netherlands, it is customary for students to arrange their own accommodation, including international students. However, this is very difficult if you're not familiar with the city yet. To help students on their way, the English website AtHomeinGroningen.com was set up. This website provides useful information and tips about the housing market. A supply and demand module for private sector rent was added to the site in early July.