IN THE MEANWHILE...

In a past long gone this place was a soccer club, the neighborhood gathered here every week for training sessions, matches, socail talks and drinks. Unfortunately, enthusiasm declined and the club had to merge with another club. The site was abandoned. The municipality of Amsterdam decided to house a refugee center on this location in 2002. From 2007 to 2013, the site was the domain of the Coentunnel Company that built the 2nd Coentunnel (the tunnel that goes under the water). When they left, the place was empty, desolate and quiet.... But not for long. The municipality of Amsterdam wanted to return the site to the neighborhood, though be it temporarely. The focus was on 'green'. Urban farming. The NoordOogst Foundation presented a plan in which there would be room for all kinds of different entrepreneurs. In 2014, the first pioneers started in the 'void' that existed. NoordOogst's plan also provided space for a 'hotel'. There was one building block still standing where first the refugees had lived and later construction workers were housed. We ended up here through a strange combination of circumstances. We already had plans for a bed and breakfast, but we saw the opportunity to open a hotel in this special place .... In April 2017, we were finally able to start renovating the heavily neglected building. Our starting point: recycle as much as possible and make it more sustainable. As a result, every apartment turned out slightly different. We decorated everything with second-hand furniture and the paint on the walls was 'trash' for the wholesale trade, because the colors were incorrectly mixed. Meanwhile, 'green' is our favorite color, together with other entrepreneurs, initiatives and the NoordOogst foundation, we are drastically 'greening' the area. We're here to stay untill the end of 2026. Then our 'meanwhile' is over...