A piece of Southeast Drenthe nightlife history will find its definitive Waterloo next year. The Boogie Bar in Barger-Oosterveld is waiting for the demolition hammer. The widely known disco is making way for an apartment complex with twelve homes.
At the beginning of last year, the opportunity came into the hands of developers and brothers Henk and Gert-Jan ten Napel. In February last year they bought the empty catering complex from the last manager, Piet de Poel, since the end of 2019.
According to Henk ten Napel, the renovation of the famous disco building was initially considered, but it was decided to demolish it and build it new. “The building is no longer in the best condition. Inside it’s all old junk. Not much maintenance has been done anymore. So this seems to us the best option,” he explains.
The new building will consist of three floors with two penthouses on the top floor. The living area will be approximately between 80 and 90 square meters. The top two homes will be slightly larger, expected to be around 150 square meters.
Prices are not yet known. Ten Napel expects that the concept will mainly appeal to an older target group. Access is via the Splitting and twelve parking spaces and storage rooms will be built behind the new building.
The developer expected to be able to complete the lion’s share of all necessary procedures last year. Coordination with the aesthetics committee and the urban planner about the design took more time than expected. “We initially thought that pointed roofs on top of the building better matched the street scene. The municipality argued for a flat roof for the same reason.”
Finally, agreement was reached on the latter option.
Ten Napel wants to send out the permit application after this summer. The zoning plan should also be amended. All in all, the two brothers are happy with it until next summer.
The immediate environment has also been informed of the plans. “Everyone responded enthusiastically. I understand for some that the disappearance of a favorite nightlife is something for a while. But given the state of maintenance, you can’t do anything with it anymore.”
For years, the Boogie Bar was one of the most popular places to go out in Emmen and the surrounding area. Siene and Casper Cramer opened the predecessor in 1958: the SICA bar. The name change follows ten years later.