The library in Hoogeveen is moving permanently to the Hoofdstraatkerk in the center. The municipal council has agreed to the purchase of the property for an amount of 860,000 euros.
All factions agreed on Thursday, although it hurt the Christian parties because the church is special for many. “Hopefully, characteristic elements will be retained,” responded CDA member Erik Leistra.
Loyal visitors can continue to attend church services for the time being. The building will not be owned by the municipality until 2027.
The current location of the library on Willemskade has been a sore point for the municipality for some time. The rent for the building is very high and due to technical defects the building is not very future-proof.
That is why the municipality has been investigating a new location for the library in recent months, with the Hoofdstraat Church as a contender. Demands included that the new library be given a central location in the city.
To get the library into the church, major renovations still need to be done. This concerns an amount of 10.5 million euros. It is not yet clear how the costs will be divided between the library and the municipality. Politics will consider it later.
The municipality expects that such an investment will pay off in the long term. According to calculations, the annual costs would be a lot less compared to the location along the Willemskade.