MAB and city of Haarlem place opening plaque in Raaks garage
On 20 August 2010, Chris van Velzen, former alderman of the city of Haarlem, placed an opening plaque in the new car park of the Haarlem Raaks project. The Raaks garage in the city centre has been open for parking since 26 May. Having made a major contribution to the project, Van Velzen was asked to mark the completion of the Raaks parking garage with the special plaque ceremony.
“As developments in city centres are so exceptionally complex, a good collaboration with the authorities is essential,” says Cees van Boven, Director of MAB Development. “Chris van Velzen constantly safeguarded the interests of the city and made a considerable contribution to the project.” The opening plaque was placed in the glass cube that serves as the pedestrian entrance of the Raaks parking garage, which offers 24-hour access to 1,000 public parking spaces.
Haarlem Raaks, enhancing the city centre
The parking garage is part of the Haarlem inner-city development Raaks, a MAB Development project that includes new buildings as well as renovations. In addition to the garage, Raaks consists of apartments, shops, bars and restaurants, a cinema and new council offices. The apartment buildings Lakenhof, Dumont and Palazzo were delivered before the garage, while the apartments in Raakshof and Zuiderstraatblok are currently under construction.
The Pathé cinema in Raaks is expected to open at the end of 2010, and the first retailers will open their doors when the public area is completed in early 2011. The new council offices are due to be occupied in the third quarter of 2011. More information about the development of the last phase of the Raaks project, including more apartments and a child care centre, will be available this autumn.
For more information about Raaks see www.haarlem-raaks.nl or go to the projectpage of Haarlem Raaks.