The owners of the Hilton hotel on Groenplaats in central Antwerp intend to significantly expand, with additional floors being built. The hotel will be integrated into the Grand Bazar shopping centre next door and has applied to build a swimming pool.
As part of the expansion, an extra 137 bedrooms will be created, taking the total from 210 to 347. Existing rooms will be renovated and there will be a gym, lobby, event space and dining room. The owners have applied for an environmental permit and a public enquiry will run until 16 September.
The entire complex between Groenplaats, Eiermarkt, Beddenstraat and Schoenmarkt is protected as a monument. It was originally a department store, established at the end of the 19th century in a neo-classical building built in 1859.
The current buildings came about in four major phases between 1920 and 1931. In the early 1990s, the entire complex was renovated and rebuilt into the Hilton hotel and Grand Bazar shopping centre.
Both buildings are now owned by local property developer Iret Development, which previously realised the luxury Botanic Sanctuary hotel next to the Botanic Garden.