A historic barn from 1841 will become the entrance to the renovated Bleekerseiland in Meppel. To this end, the authentic building must be renovated and redeveloped into a multifunctional space. The barn is part of the entire conversion of the peninsula into a city park and a city lodging house.
The province is investing 75,000 euros in the shed, also to give the overall redevelopment a boost. It is at a very low ebb due to enormously increased construction costs and inflation, says deputy Henk Brink.
Now it is a small impoverished area in the center of the city. And that while Bleekerseiland is perhaps one of the most beautiful places in Meppel. On the water, at the lock, under the supervision of windmill De Vlijt. Women used to bleach their laundry there. And on the other side the steam ferries left for Amsterdam. It was then the gateway to Drenthe. Now it is gray, even when the sun shines. There are some trees on the edge of the peninsula, but that’s about the only colorful thing to see.
The municipality is investing 1.5 million euros in Bleekerseiland to pimp it up. That money is intended to turn the site into a public park. The conversion of the monumental buildings into a city inn (hotel) is for the account of a foundation that owns the buildings. The municipality has no financial worries about that. It should be ready in 2025. Bleekerseiland is located within the protected cityscape of Meppel.
Brink: “Since the demolition of commercial buildings in 2009, the site has been vacant. The three monumental buildings, one of which is a national monument, on the north side are deteriorating rapidly. For years, attempts have been made to provide Bleekerseiland with a new, suitable interpretation. The De Kinckhorst Foundation is responsible for the development of the city lodging, including the accompanying publicly accessible inner area. The authentic barn is an integral part of the entire redevelopment.”
The intention is to demolish the existing extensions and to restore the original main form. The demolition of the extension on the south side creates space to create a new entrance to Bleekerseiland. According to Brink, the authentic barn will have a ‘gateway’ function to the island and will determine the image quality of Bleekerseiland.
In 2009, the municipality and Woonconcept bought the land on Bleekerseiland for an enormous amount: 2.6 million euros, both paid half. Goal: prevent a project developer from filling it up with high-rise homes in a place where you don’t want it and thus ruining the view of the historic site in the city. Then a very long search for an infill of the peninsula began.
Woonconcept wanted to create living spaces in the historic buildings, but that turned out to be impossible. A few years ago, the municipality came up with a plan. It wants to give Bleekerseiland back to the community as a gift.
Due to the complex area development resulting from monumental buildings, last year the province provided a subsidy of almost 260,000 euros for the Bleekerseiland project from the Scheme Restructuring Spatial Quality and from the Rezoning Characteristics Property scheme a subsidy of more than 100,000 euros for the monumental building Bleekerseiland no. 9.
These subsidies have nothing to do with saving the authentic barn.