11th and 12th houses : CREB Woluwe

Constellations in collaboration with CREB association / Fundraising 2019-2024

Project to extend and completely renovate the day and residential centers at CREB Woluwe (Centre de Rééducation de l'Enfance à Bruxelles).

This center will accommodate 55 children in a day center and 27 in a residential center. This is the CREB's second project, following the opening of CREB Anderlecht.

We have had encouraging contacts with the main supporters of CREB Anderlecht. Since the start of construction at CREB Anderlecht, our priority has been to find funding for CREB Woluwe.

CREB Woluwe cares for children and young people with profound mental handicaps and associated disabilities. The current premises, built without subsidies, are insalubrious, contain asbestos and are too small to meet current standards.

The authorities are imposing a complete extension and renovation .Closure is threatened if the reconstruction is not taking place.

The plan is to rebuild a first floor with an additional storey. The space will be increased by +/- 1000 m² and will enable the sanitary facilities and bedrooms to be brought up to standard. The work will be staggered over time, as it is impossible to close the facilities.

Constellations has a major role to play in bringing the project to a successful conclusion. In fact, this will be the most ambitious project Constellations has ever undertaken.

We had found the €5,000,000 needed, including the equipment. We obtained €1,450,000 from several foundations thanks to Constellations' contribution. These foundations include the Anber Foundation ,the Lokumo Foundation, the Brussels Rotary Clubs, the M.M Delacroix Foundation, CAP48, the ROGER DE SPOELBERCH Foundation, the NIF Foundation, the Michelham Foundation and the 6088 Fund.

COCOF will cover a large part of the cost. Given the context, we have decided that the 2025 theater evening was dedicated to supporting our 3 current projects, including the CREB. The increase in construction costs made this additional support unavoidable.

After 18 months of hard work, we had now obtained planning permission. To prepare for the call for tenders, we had to update all the costs. This exercise showed a continuation of the dramatic increase in construction costs, with the total cost rising to €6,900,000 and €400,000 for equipment. This includes €250,000 needed to obtain planning permission - additional requests from the fire brigade and modifications required by the region.

In this context, we increased our contribution to €800,000, an exceptional commitment made possible by two very generous donations to Constellations.

We submitted the tender documents and the request for final approval to Cocof, and have just received the administration’s approval in early April.

The big question was whether the final approval from the Brussels-Capital Region government could be obtained under current affairs, or whether we would have to wait for the appointment of a new government.

In early June 2025, the big news came: the Brussels Capital Region government gave us its green light, thereby allowing us to launch the call for tenders and hopefully begin construction at the end of 2026.

The tender was then launched and showed offers exceeding our estimate by €900,000 in the best-case scenario.

We were able to secure a negotiated procedure [1]. The negotiations, which went very well, took place in February. The dossier was sent to the Cocof in March and then forwarded to the Minister in June for final approval. The Council of Ministers will have to ratify this decision as it involves an increase in the number of places. At this stage, everything points to construction beginning in autumn 2026.

We have also received support from several foundations to save the project, and we would like to extend our particular thanks to Cap48, the Delacroix Fund, the ICB Foundation and the Anber Foundation. We have also increased our own funding.

[1] A negotiated procedure is an option available in the context of a tender process where bids exceed the budget by 13%, allowing for direct negotiations with the relevant companies with the potential to secure significant price reductions. This involves a six-month delay, but it is worth the wait to save several