1/3 Shopping center becomes new town hall
A major switch in the center of Oosterhout should ensure more housing construction and a lively city center. The shopping center will make way for a new town hall and the retailers will be accommodated elsewhere in the city center. And three hundred houses will be built on the old town hall location. “A clever sliding puzzle.”
“An optimized center”, is how the municipality of Oosterhout calls the plans for the city center. According to councilor Clèmens Piena, it would be a double win-win situation.
“Like other municipalities, we are faced with vacant shops. To tackle this, we want to move the town hall on the Slotjesveld to the Arendshof shopping center. We can then build homes at the old town hall location.”
To achieve this plan, the municipality already purchased the shopping center in 2020. The municipality has also come up with something for retailers who have to leave the shopping center.
“The city center remains vibrant.”
“We have helped retailers find new locations in the center. This way the city center remains vibrant. It is a smart sliding puzzle,” says councilor Dees Melsen.
In addition, the center of Oosterhout will be greened and made more sustainable. Part of the current shopping center will be transformed into a green square, there will be more water in the center and the park at Slotjesveld will be strengthened.
The plans of the Municipal Executive cost approximately 31 million euros. The municipality receives support from the province, which helps the twelve largest municipalities in Brabant with the redevelopment of their shopping areas through the Urban Area Development program.
“We have a major housing construction challenge.”
“There is a large amount of retail vacancy that is only increasing, we have a major housing construction challenge and a challenge to accommodate all social functions in a good location. In the case of Oosterhout, one and one really equals three,” says deputy Stijn Smeulders.
The province has various ways to support the municipality of Oosterhout. “We can provide a subsidy for more green and blue in the center, provide a loan under favorable conditions or purchase something and further develop it together with the municipality,” says Smeulders.
The Municipal Executive will go to the municipal council this month to apply for credit. If that is successful, councilor Piena expects the renovations to be completed within one and a half to two years.
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