The Leisure Boulevard in Roden – now still a gray stone mass – should soon be a new village green for the village. With the parking lot in front of the Kampeerhal as a kind of ‘second center’. The plans are still early, but no less serious, as it turned out tonight.

The plans were presented to the public during a walk-in meeting of the Noordenveld municipality. Homes will be built on the Kanaalstraat, united in the new ‘De Boterlinie’ district to be built. The parking lot on which Alida’s Smulpaleis is now located and to which businesses such as Snow&Co, the Kampeerhal and Intersport adjoin, must be made a lot greener.

At least that is the plan of the municipality of Noordenveld. Project leader Chiel Abma is currently busy in consultation with entrepreneurs, local residents and other stakeholders to give the Leisure Boulevard a different look. “There is a lot of quality to be gained in this part of Roden”, says Abma. “A refurbishment offers opportunities.”

There are opportunities, for example, for construction group Van Wijnen. They have plans for the construction of 22 apartments on the site of the old Bike Life, the bicycle company that burned down in June 2020 and later moved to the other side under the name Velodrome.

Van Wijnen builds apartments of between 90 and 140 square meters. “We aim for a mixed target group. Both the elderly and young people are welcome,” says Julian Huizinga on behalf of the company. Depending on how the market develops, Huizinga expects the homes to cost between 350,000 and 550,000 euros.

Van Wijnen hopes to put the apartments up for sale in the autumn of 2023. Later on, the company also wants to start working at the place where Buiter Roden is still located.

According to Roden Henk Huizing and Henk Dijkhuizen there is a need for housing construction in Roden. They attended the walk-in meeting tonight and were impressed. “It looks very nice,” says Huizing. “Let them start tomorrow!”

Dijkhuizen: “There is a lot of demand for housing, both among the elderly and young people. Affordable housing is a good addition to our village.”

But the gentlemen also have criticisms. Especially on the plan to turn the Leisure Boulevard into a second center. “Lost time”, says Huizing. “We have a beautiful village green in the village itself. The municipality has been talking about making the Leisure Boulevard more beautiful for twenty years, but it’s a good thing.”

Dijkhuizen thinks so too. “People just come here to fill their carts and then leave again or quickly eat some chips. That won’t change if it gets a lot greener here. The percentage of people who stay here is very low. And that you don’t just change.”

Nevertheless, that is the aim of the municipality of Noordenveld. “We want a residential area that exudes a leisure economy,” says project leader Abma. “Roden indeed already has a green, but this is actually one. We want to restore it.”

The intention is that visitors to this part of Roden will not only come to fill their car. “People have to stay here for a while. For new residents of the village, it should feel like a place to stay. So it’s more of a central area.”

Article continues below the photo.

ttn-41