Real estate entrepreneur David Maas wants to start building housing in the Oude Molenstraat in Assen. The entrepreneur bought the former Koops garage there. The site now houses a home furnishings store.
Electronics store De Harense Smid was located in this building for years. It is still unclear what exactly David Maas will develop on the site near the city center. “We first have to consult with the municipality about the target group. Because what kind of homes is especially needed? This site is 3500 square meters. If you are allowed to go up a lot, you can lose a lot of homes on it.”
The real estate entrepreneur is also not yet sure whether the existing building will be demolished or whether he will convert it and put a few floors on top. In any case, it concerns rental homes that Maas wants to realize.
He would like to keep retail space on the ground floor, because he believes there is sufficient demand for it. “It is true that this location is not in the core shopping area, the place where Assen would like to concentrate the shops according to the city center vision. And you would not expect it, but there is a need for its large surface,” says Maas.
In recent years, the property manager has already converted two large office locations near the center of Assen into residential complexes with rental studios for starters. This concerns the office colossus Toren van Abel and a building on Kloekhorststraat. Maas has also been working on the redevelopment of retail properties in the Singelpassage for some time. He turns this into town houses.
He cannot yet say when Maas will actually start building on the Oude Molenstraat. “First we have to wait for the new aldermen who will come in Assen. And then we have to talk.”