Years of innovation Raaks: “From neglected part of Haarlem to bustling city center”

According to Bruijn, the area has been redeveloped for about 20 to 25 years. “It used to be a block with nice old streets, three beautiful school buildings and two nice old churches.” According to him, these were real eye-catchers of the Raaks. “Three buildings have been demolished. One old school building is still there, which have now become homes. And the brewery is located in one of the churches.”

‘Parking eyesore’

According to Bruijn, the parking garage behind the buildings in the monumental part of the city center was an eyesore for many. “Behind the garage was a dirty corner where people often peed. It is good that they have removed that, but personally I think it is a shame that the rest is gone too.”

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According to Bruijn, it was not necessary to demolish the old monumental buildings. “It was not empty here at all when they started the repurposing. It would have been possible to give the other three buildings a new destination as well. There were also plans for that, but it didn’t work out.”

According to Bruijn, there are still some remnants of the old buildings in the area. “For example, the city gate of the old school building, with the city coat of arms of Haarlem, has been replaced on the wall of the town hall. There you also walk through a gate to the Raaks area. There are also several statues that also come from the old school buildings. .”

According to Bruijn, we have succeeded in transforming the neglected part of the city into a new bustling city center. “We have a beautiful new neighborhood with small streets, a mix of living, shopping, working and going out. Those are exactly the things you want in a city center. After all these years, we are quite happy with that.”