A stopover in LLN? The Mozaïk Lodge opens its doors

Press release - UCLouvain regional development

In brief:

  • A 124-bed lodge has opened in LLN, a partnership between UCLouvain, the city of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and the Kaleo non-profit association
  • Purpose: enlarge and diversify lodging options on campus
  • Target clientele: international students (and their families), PhD students, visiting professors, tourists, UCLouvain science park visitors

Info: https://www.kaleo-asbl.be/fr/gites/louvain-la-neuve/
Press contact:    
Nicolas Cordier, UCLouvain Regional Development Officer, mobile on request

2010. UCLouvain closed its hotel, ‘Le Relais’, on its Louvain-la-Neuve campus. To rebuild new lodging more in tune with campus development and visitor demands, the university joined forces with the municipality and integrated into the project the specialist non-profit association Kaleo (the former Centre belge du tourisme pour les jeunes, CBTJ).

UCLouvain’s motivation was to diversify the supply of available lodging in LLN for short stays at reasonable prices. According to UCLouvain Rector Vincent Blondel, ‘Mozaïk is synonymous with openness and hospitality, two core UCLouvain values. The lodge is the ideal stop for international visitors of UCLouvain on its Louvain-la-Neuve campus, and there are many of them: students but also researchers and their families. It's a plus for an international university like ours.’

2019. The Mozaïk Lodge is born: 32 rooms, 124 beds, three common rooms, and a canteen. Accessibility is assured for reduced mobility persons, and bicycle parking is provided. The total construction budget was €4.5 million, including €2.45 million in Walloon Region grants. The lodge is located on UCLouvain property near the Esplanade, the train station, and central Louvain-la-Neuve.

Target clientele:

  • UCLouvain-related short-term guests:
    • UCLouvain students (Belgian and international): a place to stay while getting organised and searching for long-term accommodation;
    • visiting families;
    • visiting professors, seminar researchers;
    • PhD students;
  • visitors of the UCLouvain science park and surrounding companies;
  • tourists;
  • cultural and civil society associations

Figures: 32 rooms, 124 beds, 31 showers, 1 canteen, 3 common rooms. Total budget = €4.5 million  (including €2.45 million in Walloon Region subsidies and a €200,000 UCLouvain loan via Inesu). Construction duration: 2 years. Lodge employees: eventually 12 to 15 full-time.

Published on September 04, 2019