ION

ION 🏡 Property Developer & Real Estate Investor
đź“Ť Active in BE, NL & LU
🏆 MIPIM 2025 – Best New Development BTW: BE0838.897.867
Ondernemingsnummer: 0838.897.867

05/06/2026

Buying student property is also about timing. Kristof Vanfleteren, CEO and Co-founder of ION, explains why the best moment to consider a student room is often years before your children actually leave for university.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
When is the right time to buy that student room? Well, the answer is simple. Do not wait too long. Do not wait until your children go to university, or your grandchildren go to university. When we launch a project, it still takes some time before it is actually built. On average, there is a pre-sales period of one year, and after that you still have to take into account a construction period of two years. It is often during that pre-sales period that the best rooms, the largest rooms and the best-oriented rooms are sold first. So my active advice to people who are interested in student property is: as soon as a project is launched, start considering it. Ideally, I would say around three years before the children actually consider moving to a student city.

03/06/2026

Buying a student room is not only about the four walls. At The Crown in Bruges, Thomas Dejagere, Head of Sales at ION, explains what is already included in the purchase, from built-in furniture to curtains, lighting and a fully finished room.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
What exactly is included in the purchase of a student room? To begin with: furniture. We provide a built-in bed with a slatted bed base, a double wardrobe with a fridge, and a built-in desk with shelves. On top of that, we also finish the room. We paint it, provide curtains and install light fittings. Students bring their own mattress, their own desk chair and their own watermelon. But I would not eat from it any more.

29/05/2026

The best student housing is not just a place to sleep, but a place you want to stay. At Flint in Leuven, Kristof Vanfleteren, CEO and Co-founder of ION, meets a student who liked the residence so much that he stayed even after moving his studies to Antwerp.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
Are we disturbing you? No? Are you students here? I am a student here. How long have you been living here in student accommodation? This is my fifth year. That means you are satisfied? Absolutely, definitely. And what makes the residence nice or attractive? The location, for sure. It is still in the centre, but we also have a lot of space here. We have our room to retreat to, and then we have this space to cook together or to watch the Champions League together. So that combination is very good. Fantastic. I would immediately want to go back to that time. And what do you study? Business Administration, but currently in Antwerp. And you still live here in student accommodation? I did my bachelor’s degree here in Leuven, and it was such a good student room that I simply wanted to stay here. Wow, what a view. A very beautiful, bright space. I see you also enjoy a night out. Every now and then, yes. Compact, but well integrated with the furniture, with everything included. Only the sofa is mine, and the rest was already here. So it is indeed like this, also the desk. Then here, with the fridge, and another wardrobe here. More space here. So it is all very nicely finished. And I see you are also a runner? Are you not taking part in the Leuven Marathon? Yes, I am, this afternoon. This afternoon? The half marathon. Then you need to get ready, because I am starting as well. Oh, really? Then we will see each other later.

27/05/2026

At The Crown in Bruges, student life and education come together under one roof. Thomas Dejagere, Head of Sales at ION, takes you inside this multifunctional campus building combining student rooms, classrooms, an auditorium and the VIVES Business School.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
Today we are in Bruges on the campus of VIVES University. Here, together with ION, we developed a multifunctional building: The Crown. It is a building that houses 138 student rooms, 19 classrooms, an auditorium and the VIVES Business School. We are in a very good location on campus, where students are perfectly served by the university. In addition, we are within cycling distance of the city centre, the bus stop and station are nearby, and there are many sports facilities on the opposite side of the site. Come on, let’s go inside. Badge, important. We are now in the shared kitchen, where three large induction hobs are provided, two ovens and two sinks. What we also always provide are lockers, so that every student can store their own chocolate spread there, so it does not grow legs. I am going to show you a classic room, which is around 15 square metres. There is a built-in bed, which is a single bed, a built-in desk with shelves above it and then a double wardrobe. In every student room, we provide private sanitary facilities, which means there is a shower, a wall-mounted toilet and a washbasin unit with a mirror. On this side is the Business School and the classrooms with the auditorium, and the other half consists of the 138 student rooms. Oops, not many people showed up for our lesson. That is the unique thing, in the American model: in the same building where you attend classes, you also have your student room.

22/05/2026

In Leuven, heritage and new-build do not have to compete with each other. Kristof Vanfleteren, CEO and Co-founder of ION, explains how Vesalius carefully combines historic façades, restored buildings and new architecture into one coherent city project.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
What is really nice about this project here in Leuven is the mix between historic buildings and new-build, which you can see perfectly in this façade line. It was a challenge and it was explicitly requested by the city. But you can still see the beautiful mosaics in the façades over there, and you can still see the fantastic façades of the old buildings. We were outside the historic centre of Leuven. The Leuven ring road was over there. Here we have old farmhouses that we fully restored to their former glory, bringing them back with the plasterwork of the past. You can still see the old gates that serve as entrances, and we also used them to make the inner area at the back more lively by creating a number of passages in the street. When we bought the site, we were confronted with a mix of homes. Homes that were recognised as monuments, homes that were on the immovable heritage list, and homes that had no value at all. The art, of course, was to combine all of that. We did that perfectly together with the heritage department of the City of Leuven and our own architects, jointly determining what had to be preserved, what could be integrated into new-build, and what could disappear completely.

20/05/2026

Student housing today is no longer just about having a room. At Flint in Leuven, Kristof Vanfleteren, CEO and Co-founder of ION, explains how shared spaces, sports facilities and outdoor areas are reshaping the way students live and connect.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
Where the Leuven public welfare office used to be located, you can now find Leuven’s first student hotel. There you go, satisfied students from Flint. Mothers of students. And are the students happy here? Very happy. Very happy. Here we are in the inner area of the student residence, where we chose very high-quality materials, which also creates a sense of calm. You have the greenery, you have access to the shared spaces, and around that you have the different living units, each with shared terraces connected to the kitchens where students can relax, have a drink and chat. The sporty students were also taken into account. In addition to an indoor fitness area, there is also an outdoor space where students can train, exercise and relax. Here we are in the relaxation area. Students come together here to discuss things, to watch a film, to read a book or to play table football. Upstairs there is also a snooker table. Students no longer study alone in their room, but prefer to sit together in a shared space to work.

13/05/2026

On 19 April, Sander Plets, Project Development Director at ION, ran the Leuven Half Marathon together with his son Andreas. One question shaped the day: who would cross the finish line first?

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
Here at the marathon in Leuven, I am going to beat my son Andreas. I am Andreas and I am going to do my best to make sure that does not happen. The question is who is going to win: Andreas or me? Andreas. I would go for your son. Thank you. Sorry, Sander. Andreas is not a trained guy like you, he is not as prepared as you, he has younger legs, but the preparation means that you will beat him easily. There you go, thank you. That is what we are going for. Andreas will run it twice. In the same time? I do want to give priority to youth. Sander, sorry. So Andreas will arrive earlier. Thank you. More votes for Andreas, but I am going all in to still finish first. Honestly, between us, who do you think is going to win? I’m afraid he will cross the finish line first. He has really done his best to train for this. Suffering, but really fun. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, nice course and great atmosphere. Definitely worth doing again. Are you okay? Well done. Also 1 hour 43. Goal achieved, so that is nice. He knew he was not going to beat me in the sprint, so on Bondgenotenlaan he kept running. You need to know when to accelerate.

08/05/2026

A tax change can significantly impact your investment return. Gil Malysse, CFO at ION, explains how the 6% VAT scheme for demolition and reconstruction makes new-build apartments more attractive for investors in Belgium.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
Here in Kortrijk, you can save up to 55.000 euros on an apartment. With demolition and reconstruction, you only pay 6% instead of 21% VAT. And since the law changed last July, it has become even more interesting for investors because their return is also much higher. What are the rules for investors? One: you must rent out the property for at least fifteen years to someone who lives there. These can be successive tenants. Two: the net habitable surface area may not exceed 175 square metres. And three: another advantage, you can purchase either as a private individual or through your company. At ION, we offer many projects under this 6% rate.

06/05/2026

Student housing does not always have to be modern. At ’t Onzent in Kortrijk, Thomas Kerckaert, Senior Sales Consultant at ION, explains how a neglected Art Nouveau villa was transformed into a unique place for students to live.

👇 English subtitles available below.

#’tOnzent

(English subtitles)
Have you ever lived in a student room in the villa of Pippi Longstocking? In Kortrijk, it is possible. In this villa, we developed 15 student rooms with ION. It is a very well-known villa by architect De Coene. De Coene designed several villas in Kortrijk. He always used that specific Art Nouveau style. The challenge was that it was a vacant building that was deteriorating. We decided to buy it and redevelop it into 15 student rooms. The students have all the facilities. They have a shared kitchen and living spaces. They are really living in a top property, like the villa of Pippi Longstocking, but that authentic character is still fully preserved.

01/05/2026

Financing a real estate project is not just about numbers, but about understanding risk. Gil Malysse, CFO at ION, explains how banks assess profitability, risk and reporting before deciding how much they are willing to finance.

👇 English subtitles available below.



(English subtitles)
What do banks look at when financing a real estate project? First, they look at whether the project generates money. They look at the income and costs of the project and the future cash flows. Then they check the risks. What is the permit risk? What is the construction risk? What is the commercial risk? And what is the type of real estate? Is it residential real estate, a hotel or offices? If these parameters are favourable, the bank is willing to allow higher financing. Furthermore, banks also find it very important to have clear reporting on these risks and on the profitability of the project.

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