of Rome in 1957, of which Belgium was a signing member, created the European Economic Community (EEC) and initiated Europe's move away from economic borders and towards a single market via reduced customs duties and the establishment of a customs union. At the same time, Belgium's expansion of its roads and highways in the 1960s and 1970s (see Transport in Belgium) facilitated the increased transport of goods by road versus waterways or railways. The free movement of capital and goods within the EEC (and, from 1993, the European Union), combined with the changing means by which those goods were distributed within member states, gradually made the original function of the buildings at Tour & Taxis irrelevant. The Public Depot and the Royal Depot were rented out to private companies for storage space, but building maintenance became too expensive for the railway and port companies to maintain. By the 1990s, the Port of Brussels and the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) each put their shares of the Tour & Taxis property up for sale. Redevelopment What Tour & Taxis would become in its next iteration remained unclear for several years. Plans to develop a 12,000-person concert hall on the premises were met with opposition by organisations like La Fonderie, The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, World Monuments Watch and Europa Nostra. Project T&T, a joint venture among three real estate development companies—Extensa (Ackermans & van Haaren), RB Management, and IRET development—purchased the site in 2001. Extensa bought out the other partners in 2014. Each of the historical buildings has been renovated or is in the process of being renovated as part of a mixed-use development with office space, residences, a public park, public services, shopping and restaurants, while preserving the architectural heritage of the site. Heritage buildings The Royal Depot was the first to be redeveloped. The original train track running through the bonded warehouse was replaced with an inner walkway lined by shops, restaurants such as Le Pain Quotidien, bars, a spa, and a childcare centre. The former storerooms on the upper floors were converted to office space and are occupied by law offices, creative and communications agencies, insurance companies, the public sector, and the like. The former Public Depot (renamed the "Sheds"), once used to store incoming goods, was redeveloped next and is now one of the