The local authority in the West Flemish coastal city of Ostend hopes to start work on renovating the Thermae Palace and the Royal Galleries as early as September. The emblematic hotel and seafront galleries have long been in a very poor state of repair. The renovation project has been dragging on for years. However, things now finally seem to be moving forward.
Renovation of Ostend's Thermae Palace gets under way this year, mayor hopes that the work will start in September
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Last August, the project to renovate Thermae Palace and the Royal Galleries seemed to be back to square one. But now, six months later, the project seems to be back on track.
The Mayor of Ostend John Crombez (socialist) told Monday evening’s meeting of the city council that "Rapid progress is being made. In December, we contacted the Heritage Minister Ben Weyts’ (Flemish nationalist) office. The Flemish government is an important partner for us, as it is providing a further 30 million euro for the renovation, on top of the 12 million we obtained from them previously".
"In order to get the 30 million euro, we have to submit a grant application that meets certain conditions. In the meantime, we know what the conditions are, so we can get started on drafting an application. The Flemish Government is asking us to take the necessary steps quickly so that the renovation work can start."
Other partners
The city council will be meet with the other two partners involved in the project, the Flemish Participation Company (PMV) and nv Restotel, to discuss the project and make decisions concerning the renovation. "It makes sense to work with the same partners, there's also a contract. There will be a few adjustments, but as we have to move quickly, it makes sense to work with people who know the project inside out", Mr Crombez said.
John Crombez hopes that a call for tenders will be issued as early as next month. "That would mean that work could start straight after the summer, in the second half of September at the earliest. With construction work, of course, you always have to wait, but the resources are already in place to be able to start the whole project”.