Audi hopes to complete sale of Forest factory by June 2026

After spending one year on the real estate market, the Audi car manufacturer is preparing to sell its Forest site to Heylen Warehouses, a logistics and industrial real-estate company with establishments in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain.

A spokesperson for Audi confirmed that the due diligence process has started and the hope is to complete the sale by June of this year.

It was exactly one year ago that the German car maker closed its doors after over 75 years of production.

The decision left more than 3,000 people unemployed. Following a turbulent period in which military production was considered for the site and soil pollution concerns arose, the factory that occupies 8% of the surface area of Forest is finally set to be sold to a new owner.

For the mayor of Forest, Charles Spapens, this moment represents a unique opportunity: “It’s very important to have a long-term vision. So it's an opportunity for us to make things different, because we don't want just one big industry, but a lot of industries.”

This vision is shared with Yves Rouyet, responsible for this site’s transition at Brussels’ primary urban planning agency, perspective.brussels. According to the urban planner, the Audi site contains about 40 buildings on 53 hectares of land. “It’s not certain, but we expect [the area] to be a mix of offices and factories.”

The final destiny for the site, however, will be decided by Heylen Warehouses, Spapens and Rouyet pointed out. “It's a private site, so we are limited in our actions. But for the moment we have had good discussions and it's going well,” says Spapens.

Regarding pollution concerns, Spapens mentions that the situation is not as bad as the media earlier portrayed, and there’s an agreement in place to include a warranty fee in the contract. This would be paid by Audi to either Heylen or the municipality for any remediation works. While estimates have not been confirmed, it’s believed to be less than €50 million. Nevertheless, environmental studies on soil and water, however, are still to be completed, confirms Rouyet.

When asked if Forest was prepared to see the site sit empty if the sale didn’t come to a conclusion, Spapens maintains a positive spirit: “It's directly in the community so I don't want this site to be empty for a long time. I’m optimistic.”

Community impact

The repercussions of the factory's closure extended beyond the 3,000 Audi employees and 1,000 subcontractors to numerous restaurants and bars in the area.

“The impact was huge, for the owners and workers. But we have to survive - it is what it is,” says Mihaela, who works at the Cafe L'Abbaye in Place Saint-Dennis, some 500m from the factory gates.

A similar feeling of resignation reigns in the neighbourhood. At Cafe Le Break, a popular spot during shift changes, there are now far fewer clients, comments Greis, from behind the counter. Nearby, an employee at Snack Saint-Denis mentions that the business has suffered a 20% drop in clients since last year.

“I lost around 50 clients per day. It’s not just the after-work drinks, it’s the team dinners organised by the Audi staff. It made a big impact on my business,” says Mario, owner of Le Moulin.

At the back of Kiosque Café, there are still traces of the Audi era. Emiliano, the bartender, points to a collection of photos of Audi summer interns who would meet up there for drinks - the pictures stop in 2024.

The closure has not affected everyone equally. Grocery store La Vivriere was protected because of its local clientele. The majority of factory workers commuted from outside Forest, says Matthieu. But he still laments the departure of Audi: “From one day to the other they decided they will leave and that’s it”.

This reality is confirmed by Tamimount Essaidi, director of Maison Saint Antoine, a community centre in in the municipality. Although the factory’s workers did not live in Forest, she is still worried about the future of local youngsters. Her hope is that the new solution, “can create employment for the youth. That’s the important thing because there's a lot of unemployment here”.

In 2024, Forest, alongside Saint-Gilles, was the fifth commune in Brussels with the highest unemployment rate at 16.5%.

Now, with a new company due to take over the long-standing factory site, the community as well as the city will be hoping for a much-needed economic revival.

Photos: (main image) Audi factory ©Pedro Saad; ©Audi; ©Yves Rouyet; ©Pedro Saad