Amsterdam neighbourhood lures hipsters with cheap waterfront housing

Amsterdam

WHEN Vincent Vollenbronck was living in Amsterdam's northern harbour as a teenager, it was a derelict expanse of potholed streets and abandoned docks where he would sometimes throw bricks through the windows of empty warehouses. Now, he is helping developers transform it into the city's fastest-growing area.

"Growing up there was fun, but most of the former shipyards were vacant or occupied by squatters," said the 33-year-old adviser for BNP Paribas Real Estate, which this year brokered the sale of 403 student homes being built on a former shipbuilding wharf to a Dutch asset manager. "Now, the area's booming."

The district of Amsterdam Noord is taking off as soaring housing costs across the city and the promise of a new subway line tempt residents to brave the bottlenecked journey across the IJ river in search of better values or lower rents. Firms including Blackstone Group LP and Hilton Worldwide Holdings In…