Fire-Damaged Building in Groningen Infested with Mold and Junkies, Owner Calls it a ‘Worry Building’

Junkies walk in and out and there is mold on the walls. One tenant calls it “fucked up”. The owner calls it “a worry building”. This is the building in Groningen where a fire broke out on Wednesday morning.

The Papengang is a small street, perpendicular to the bustling Peperstraat, in Groningen. It was a dark hallway, but the street was renovated in 2022. This did not apply to the square at the beginning and certainly not to the corner of that square. There is a large, sturdy fence with barbed wire at the top.

Behind that fence is the building where a short, fierce fire raged on Wednesday morning. Some rooms were destroyed. One boy had to go to the hospital. The building is located in an old and densely built-up part of Groningen. “You shouldn’t even think about what else could have happened,” Mayor Koen Schuiling said shortly after the fire.

According to residents, about thirty people live in the building. One studies, another works and another says he lives on benefits. Dagblad van het Noord spoke to three tenants. No one wants to have his or her name in the newspaper. “It’s fucked up here,” says one of them. Other residents say something similar. They pay between 650 and 715 euros per month, including gas and electricity.

“It’s from some rich guy.”

In the courtyard of the building there is a demolished sofa, a blue-painted pallet, a large dildo and at least twenty bicycles. A few window frames are completely charred, the windows are covered with wooden panels. The fire raged here on Wednesday. Here and there are stickers with the text: Trump make America great again.

Things are no better in the building. Two washing machines are rotting under the stairs and the concrete corridors are missing carpeting. There is mold on the walls and here and there the windows are cracked. According to a resident, rainwater regularly leaks inside.

Moreover, the three residents say, the owner does not install smoke detectors in the rooms. DVHN viewed two rooms. There was indeed no smoke detector in one, but there was in the second. According to the resident, this only happened when he went after it himself.

No smoke detectors in the rooms

The owner of the building is real estate investor Pronkjewail. One of the top executives is Edward Wielens. He’s bummed like crazy. According to him, he did indeed offer smoke detectors. “All residents received an email from us in December. We asked them whether they have a smoke detector in their room or not.” If that was not the case, tenants had to indicate this. Then one would be brought. “Afterwards we even sent them a reminder.”

When asked about the room where there is no smoke detector, he says: “You simply cannot see behind the front door.” He suspects that residents are removing the smoke detectors from the ceilings. “They want to smoke in their rooms.”

Junkies in the building

“This is a concern building,” says Wielens. According to him, this is not so much due to the mold on the walls, but due to one or more dealers who live in the building. “I suspect that there is some trading going on every now and then.” Tenants confirm this. One resident tells how a junkie entered her apartment. “He probably thought he was going into his dealer.”

According to Wielens, evicting the dealers cannot simply be done. “Tenants are well protected in the Netherlands.”

Tackle it

To say that the building is “not good” is going too far. “It’s not pretty. But we can change that.” If it were up to Wielens, he would tackle the property quickly. According to him, it will make a big difference if the entrance is not in a dark corner, but in the busy Peperstraat. He indicates that he is discussing this with the municipality.

2024-02-24 19:31:17


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