For almost forty years, stately doors of Stadspaleis remained, now the city is looking for a tenant: « The impressive garden is an oasis of tranquility » (Antwerp)

For almost forty years the stately doors of the former Museum Smidt van Gelder remained closed, but now there can be life again in the stately salons, the mirror room, the modernist garden and the office spaces above. In 1905, the master house was commissioned by the Antwerp banking family Thijs, together with the building next to it into a ‘city palace’. In 1937 Pieter Smidt van Gelder (1878-1956) bought the building to live there and there his immense art collection.

« Now that the restoration has been completed, we are looking for candidates who can give a nice interpretation to this building, » says ships of Patrimonium Koen Kennis (N-VA). « For the Bel-floor there is the possibility for a restaurant and the location is also suitable for parties or performances. On the ground floor there is a hull space that can be furnished as a kitchen. Upstairs there are beautiful office spaces and the impressive garden is an oasis of tranquility. »

Hurry

The rental price is 108,000 euros per year, which amounts to 9,000 euros per month. The offices can possibly be rented on via sublease. The building was also equipped with lifts, ventilation and fire safety installations and solar panels.

« In 1949 Pieter Smidt van Gelder donated the building to the city, on condition that he was allowed to live there until his death. In 1950 it was opened as a museum, until 1987 when the building had fallen into disrepair and the museum closed its doors after a fire, » says Kennis.

Read too. After 40 years, Stadspaleis is again (even) ahead: Former Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder finally fully restored

At first there was a plan to reopen the museum in 1993, when Antwerp was the cultural capital of Europe, but that was canceled. The art collection, which consists of porcelain, furniture, paintings and ceramics, now belongs to the collection of the MAS.

The building and the garden have been protected since 2002. In 2010, the Stedelijk Vastgoedbedrijf AG Vespa received the building in the portfolio. « After a lot of preliminary studies and investigations, we started the restoration in the spring of 2022, » says project leader Tine Quintens. « Among other things, adjustments were needed to restore stability. One fireplace that was once stolen was very accurately copied. In the show salons, the cloths on the walls are subtly printed with pieces of paintings from the Van Gelder collection, such as water landscapes and goddesses. »

The Mirror Cabinet is also the effort, where Smidt van Gelder had displayed his collection of Chinese vases and cupboards. Anyone who goes downstairs to the toilet can admire a lot of items from the collection of the collector on the image on the inside of the door.

June 23

Candidate tenants can submit a proposal until 23 June. A choice is then made based on a number of criteria, both financially and in terms of content. « For example, we also look at whether the proposal fits with the allure of the building, whether there is no noise nuisance for the neighborhood and whether the entrepreneur already has experience, » they say at AG Vespa. The new tenant could draw in no later than 1 October

DMT Architects and Custom Architects signed for the restoration, which cost a total of 11.6 million euros. Four million of them came from the budget of the city of Antwerp.