The Paddepoel shopping center in Groningen will soon undergo a metamorphosis. But then the plan must be supported by the retailers.
“Something has to be done here. We agree on that”, says secretary Reinder Gooijarts of the Paddepoel District Council. After a tour of the neighborhood, he waves goodbye to the mayor and aldermen. “The mall is outdated. It has little charisma and looks rickety from the outside.”
‘Introverted mall’
Gooijaarts is looking forward to a rigorous approach to the shopping area. What bothers him is that the mall is a “dead mess” after hours. “A gloomy plain where people prefer not to come at night,” he says. “That has to change,” agrees Harold Lubberts, center manager of the Paddepoel shopping center. “We are in full discussion with retailers, residents and developer MWPO. It is an introverted shopping center with too many closed facades on the outside.”
What should the Paddepoel shopping center and the surrounding area look like in the future? There are impressive drawings on the table. Scenarios for a refurbished shopping area in combination with high-rise buildings. The board of the Cooperative Association of Owners (CVvE), the municipality of Groningen, real estate entrepreneur and developer MWPO and Lab Kloppend Hart Paddepoel signed an agreement on Tuesday. It states that this year they are working on a plan that is financially feasible.
Maripaan Group large batch
The Lab is a collaboration of professional parties and residents. One of the most important parties in the CVvE is Paddepoel Vastgoed BV (including Maripaan Groep van de Jumbo), which owns 40 percent of the real estate in Paddepoel. Gooijaarts is enthusiastic about the space that residents are given in ‘the Lab’ to also combat the impoverishment of the neighbourhood. “We feel that we are being taken very seriously. There’s a lot of work to do. We’re not there yet.”
Alderman Eelco Eikenaar (SP) of the municipality of Groningen speaks of a shopping complex that is surrounded by cars all day long. “It must become a habitat where people also stay at night.”
‘High-rise not wrong’
Gooijaarts agrees with him. ,,This is the only free space in Paddepoel that you can do something with. There is room here for new construction projects. High-rise? That’s not wrong. This allows you to attract older people who remain in single-family homes to apartments. That gives flow and ensures the arrival of young families in the neighborhood.”
Gooijarts says that there is talk of 700 new homes in and around the shopping center. That number is confirmed by the municipality.
Financially, the metamorphosis is not a piece of cake. The project developer must interest investors and housing associations in an investment of millions. The condition is that the housing market and building prices develop in such a way that the homes are affordable. And then the entrepreneurs also have to cooperate in the approach of their shopping centre.
Conflict Sunday opening
Entrepreneurs already had the wish to modernize Paddepoel in 2008. It was being worked on, but development came to a standstill for years in 2018. Among other things because of a conflict about Sunday opening (open together on the last Sunday of the month, not during the summer months) and collective opening hours. Shopkeepers were fined if they did not keep to these jointly agreed opening hours. Small entrepreneurs indicated that they could not be present in the business seven days a week. Some of the shopkeepers thought it was wrong in principle that others could determine when they should work as independent entrepreneurs. In 2016, Lubberts was appointed as center manager to professionalise matters.
The dispute was settled in 2018. The fines disappeared in the trash. In March 2021, Paddepoel, which is known as the largest shopping center in the North, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Lubberts: ,,That was a big party. We celebrated it and ended a nasty period.” Eikenaar is happy with ‘the new energy’. “We are pleased that the association of owners has engaged a developer who involves the residents.”
New jumbo
Lubberts has high expectations of the Maripaan Group, which is establishing a Jumbo in the shopping centre. The necessary space has already been cleared for this purpose and shops have been relocated. Jumbo will soon be the second and largest supermarket in the Paddepoel shopping center, which attracts approximately 70,000 visitors every week.
‘We feel at home in Paddepoel’
On a weekday it is pleasantly busy in the afternoon. Entrepreneur Erwin Brink of fish specialist Pasèl has little regard for the shopping public. He gesticulates construction workers in his shop. The store is undergoing major renovations and will soon be able to accommodate about eighty people who want to eat a fish. “This will be the largest fish shop in the North,” he says proudly.
Brink has every confidence in the plans for the shopping centre. “A lot is going to happen here. We feel at home in Paddepoel. My family started here 53 years ago. Our customers come from all over the region. The only thing that worries me is the new paid parking rules. These are not always clear to the customer.
The municipality should indicate paid parking more clearly and pay more attention to entrepreneurs, he thinks. Think along and don’t resist. Lubberts wants to discuss this further with the municipality. ,,That’ll come. Now we are happy that the noses are in the same direction for the redevelopment and that progress is being made here.”
Driving skill required
The question is whether the Maripaan Group, which has a firm finger in the pie, will get the other entrepreneurs on board. That requires the necessary steering skills, Lubberts also knows. “My impression is that the companies see that it is now or never. It is possible that the shopping center will be given a different use in some places and entrepreneurs will be asked to move. That’s pretty exciting.”
Eikenaar emphasizes that the feasibility of new building complexes has been examined for months. “Where possible, we are densifying the city. There must be plenty of room for social housing and social activities, such as health care and community work.” The municipality is responsible for redesigning the public space. “Cyclists and pedestrians will have more space. The car is a guest. We also want more green.”
Don’t just stack stones
District council secretary Gooijaarts hopes that the municipality will take a broader view of Paddepoel. According to him, the renovation is not just a matter of stacking stones. Improving the busy traffic situation around the shopping center and making the area more attractive are high on the priority list of the district council. “Unfortunately quite a long time. It is hoped that the municipality will be willing to allocate money for this in the future.”