The shopping center of Den Helder still looked sad two decades ago. There was a lot of vacancy and things quickly deteriorated. But from 2008 onwards things slowly started to turn around. A rigorous approach to bringing the center back to life began. Now 16 years later, entrepreneurs and residents are starting to reap the benefits.
“The stores have more results. You can see that in the appearance. People are enthusiastic,” says Jan Mooij, who has lived in the city center of Den Helder all his life. He is now chairman of the store owners, but also the city center manager. At 78 years old, his love for his city remains as great as ever. “Visitors are enthusiastic. They often say: gosh, Den Helder has been renovated.”
In recent years, the city center has been tackled from all sides. Streets such as Koningsstraat, where shoppers used to come in large numbers, have started to decline. The Housing Association has demolished buildings in many places and replaced new buildings. The catering industry has been moved to Willemsoord and there is more space to live again.
Vacancy
“With the implementation plan that started in 2008, we prevented the city center from collapsing. It was very bad. A lot of vacancy, impoverishment, entrepreneurs who no longer invested in their properties. And now we are only going up again “, says Mooij during a tour of the city.
Den Helder’s approach has also attracted the attention of other cities that are struggling with vacancy in the shopping area. “There are many cities that are working on this process. Den Helder has manifested itself at several meetings. We have explained what we do and how we do it. Other cities are a bit jealous that we started so early. But we “We had to. It was very necessary to get started and we succeeded.”
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Alex Boon’s fish shop is close to the station. The owner of the building has just had the facade renovated. “We have also invested heavily inside. We have purchased a new workstation and a much more economical oven. We have also renovated the restaurant. We receive many positive reactions.”
Jan Mooij finds it wonderful to see that there is confidence in the opportunities for entrepreneurs again. “This shows that if you are working positively, people also want to participate. And also want to invest in our beautiful city. And we are well on our way. We are now at about 50 percent of the plans. We So we still have a long way to go, but then it will be absolutely great.”
The main driver of the renovation is Housing Foundation Den Helder, which is also working in other places in Den Helder. But owners of retail properties can also take advantage of subsidies of up to 75 percent to have their facades renovated. “That is unprecedented in the Netherlands,” Mooij says proudly.