ANTWERP | The Stuivenberg Gardens now open

Since Wednesday 1 May 2024 the residents of Antwerp North can enjoy a temporary green space. The City of Antwerp opened up part of the gardens on the Pesthofstraat side of the Stuivenberg site. A pop-up bar will also open there towards the end of the month. In the meantime, the summer program in the gardens is also taking shape. For example, four editions of Music in the Neighborhood (Muziek in de Wijk) will take place in July.

Since March, the City of Antwerp has once again become the owner of the part of the Stuivenberg site where the ZNA Stuivenberg general hospital was previously located, an important step in the redevelopment of the area. Later this year, some of the buildings and gardens will be given a temporary use. In anticipation of this, the city is already opening up part of the gardens to the neighborhood.

Annick De Ridder (N-VA), Alderman for Urban Development and chairperson of AG Vespa: “As a city, we are committed to creating maximum publicly accessible greenery on the Stuivenberg site in the long term – 3 out of 5 hectares – and a mix of functions that add value to the quality of life. of the neighborhood guarantees. Since the key transfer in March, we can now announce the first concrete realizations for the neighborhood in the short term.”

“From 1 May, the gardens along the Pesthofstraat side will be open to the neighborhood during the day. A pop-up bar will also appear there in June and in the summer months events and small-scale activities will be organized together with the neighborhood. Think of Music in the Neighborhood, a giant run, a residents’ BBQ, a spectacle day of youth organizations in 2060, etc. On the Lange Beeldekensstraat, an always accessible small green zone has been created with benches. There is also a beautiful canvas here with a new vision of the future. In this way, we all literally look forward to a bright future for the Stuivenberg site.”

In anticipation of the pop-up bar, the gardens along the Pesthofstraat will be open from 1 May to 1 June, every day from 11 AM to 8 PM. Werkhaven monitors the opening and closing of the gardens on a daily basis.

On the Lange Beeldekensstraat, to the left of the former emergency entrance, a small green zone has been cleared that is always accessible and where a large new vision of the future hangs. There will also be benches.

Pop-up bar

The Council of Mayor and Aldermen also approved the operation of the pop-up bar in the gardens along the side of Pesthofstraat. The exact start date is yet to be determined (around the end of May-beginning of June). From then on, it is up to the bar owners to open and close the gardens each time. The bar will be open six days a week until the end of September.

Summer programming

The city is setting up a summer program in the gardens, focusing on events and small-scale activities together with the neighborhood. For example, in July there will be four editions of Music in the Neighborhood, organized by the Zomer van Antwerpen (Summer of Antwerp).

Site manager wanted

Later this year, some of the buildings and gardens will be given a new temporary purpose. To ensure this runs smoothly, AG Vespa is looking for a professional partner who will be responsible for the temporary use and management and maintenance of the site from October 2024. Candidates can still submit a project proposal until the end of April.