US Embassy to move to former Axa building in Watermael-Boitsfort

Embassy will quit its location on the Brussels inner ring near Arts-Loi in 2018.

The US Embassy in Boulevard du Régent will in 2018 move its headquarters to the former Axa building located in the leafy Brussels commune of Watermael-Boitsfort, reports L'Echo.

The US Embassy's current location near the intersection with the busy Rue de la Loi will be traded in for a greener locale. Watermael-Boitsfort, in the south of Brussels on the border with Ixelles, is home to the 'Royale Belge', an iconic office building built in 1970 along the Boulevard du Souverain.

The building designed by architects Pierre Dufau and René Stapels went on the market after Axa Bank decided to move, coincidentally, to Boulevard du Régent, where Axa is currently building a new headquarters between Trône and Porte de Namur.

According to the newspaper, the US Embassy signed a purchase agreement with owner Cofinimmo. The cross-shaped building is 50 metres high and has a floor space of 54,000 square metres. A second, smaller building on the same site remains the property of Cofinimmo and is being converted into housing.