Much discussed, controversial, never built on: the Paradiso plot

Suddenly it is official: the little plot of land on the Weteringschans that became known as the Paradiso-landje (the Paradiso plot) has now really become the Paradiso plot. A unique piece of ground in the middle of the city centre came into the hands of the pop temple in August 2022. Why is this unique? Well, it is the last undeveloped plot in Amsterdam Centrum (!). A brief look back.

Jostling for a spot

That there is still a piece of land in the centre of Amsterdam that has never been built on can safely be called unique. The coveted ground in the canal belt is built up to the last centimetre wherever possible. But for the 700 square metres opposite the Barlaeus Gymnasium, nobody managed to reach a decision on its purpose in 140 years. There was no shortage of plans: a hotel, a car park, housing and bars and restaurants all passed in review, but none ever got through, thanks to protests from the city council or local residents.

Illustrious owners

The Paradiso plot was bought in 2000 by Messrs Endstra and Hummel with the aim of developing it. The plans were a very long time coming and, after the murder of Endstra in 2004, ended up completely in the mud. It was not until 2008 that Hummel managed to acquire the piece of land from Endstra's heirs. Unfortunately for Hummel, the credit crunch had by then broken out in full force and construction never happened.

After that things went quiet around the plot for a while, but in 2012 there was a new proposal. A hotel for the artists of the neighbouring Paradiso was to be built there. Protests from the neighbourhood and a change to the zoning plan put a stop to this initiative too.

Things get moving

So there you are, having owned such a sought-after piece of land for almost 22 years: finding a purpose for it turns out to be quite a task. In 2015 the city council's plan to build an underground bicycle garage failed (that eventually ended up on the Leidseplein). Later, plans for flats and offices failed too. And an extension of the Barlaeus Gymnasium, despite various exam pranks, did not win out either.

Extending Paradiso

In the end, in the summer of 2022, it was Paradiso that took over plot 10691 from Klaas Hummel for the sum of 3.5 million euros. Although, as Hummel argued, there were several interested parties for the piece of land, he granted it to Paradiso. The venue now has to get to work raising the money for a new building. But the last undeveloped plot in the city fi-nal-ly has a purpose...