De Placemakers sees a future for Backbone on the Travertijnstraat. Thisbecame apparent on Saturday afternoon during a meeting in ‘t Vinkhuys. PeterLoef is one of the entrepreneurs in Backbone, and he was amazed.
Hi Peter! A lot has been written and said about Backbone in the past year.How are you currently? “It’s going well in itself. However, concerns are growing. As it seems now itwill stop in this building on December 31st. Then the lease ends. The futureis uncertain. And there’s a lot of talk about that. You also see the stressand panic among the entrepreneurs. They now have an affordable space wherethey can set up their business. But what will happen next? Can they go on andon after December 31? And where? Backbone is a breeding ground where beautifulthings arise, where beautiful things happen. That should never go away.”
Backbone is located at Travertijnstraat 12, a former school building. It hasbeen said that it will be demolished to build houses… “I can tell you that yesterday afternoon was a big surprise. Because indeed,what you are describing is also the story we always heard. De Placemakers hasbeen hired by the municipality of Groningen to make a plan for this area. Whatshould be done with it? Residents have been able to submit plans, but thepeople from De Placemakers have also looked at it themselves. Yesterday duringa meeting in ‘t Vinkhuys it became clear that they think it is very importantthat people can live and work in the new district. That something must arisewhere people can meet, but which can also serve as a connection. In otherwords, what we have in Trav 12 should actually be continued.”
What exactly does that mean? “In the eyes of De Placemakers, there must be a future-proof neighborhood,where there is space and space for the neighbourhood. It must be possible towork, it must be possible to meet, but it must also be possible to organizethings for the district. That’s exactly what we do. We received the advicefrom De Placemakers to make our concept future-proof. And that the building weare in can last for years to come.”
Now I have heard the retired alderman Roeland van der Schaaf (PvdA) say thatthe building is unsafe… “Correct. But we have always questioned those words. It is clear thatsomething has to be done about the building. There is still single glass init. That must be replaced. It contains asbestos. That must be removed. Thepiping must be replaced. And the outside really needs to be refurbished. Butthose are things that can be financed and realised. And such a meeting alsomakes you think, doesn’t it? You said we’re in an old school building. Forexample, the entire computer network is still there. If you remove that, youmay be able to earn money with it so that you can already start certainactivities. We really have to think in terms of opportunities, how we can keepour pants up ourselves. Actually, the concept for the RKZ complex would beideal. There, people can take care of themselves, but a housing associationwill sign for the maintenance of the building.”
What is the value of the judgment of De Placemakers… “We do not know that. But this is a very nice boost. The Placemakers have beenhired by the municipality of Groningen to make a plan for theTravertijnstraat. So yes, there are houses. But if they say so clearly that aconcept such as Backbone fits in perfectly with the plan, then I expect thatit will simply be preserved in the presentation, and that the municipalitywill also have to do something with it. The municipality cannot ignore this.”
Until now we have often talked about the Travertijnstraat 12. But there isalso a Travertijnstraat 6 … “That is the building that used to house the Alfa College. Very nice thingsare happening there too. Just like in our building, this is a breeding groundwhere entrepreneurs can start a business at a low price. For example, there isa very large workshop there where new things are made from old materials. Verynice. And those things happen to us too. Gea’s Weggevenwinkel, for example,has become big with us. The Northerners have been here for a while. The FreeCafé is still here. The festivals of tomorrow are conceived here, thecompanies that everyone will be talking about next week will see the lighthere.”
Meanwhile, the end of the year is approaching. Are you going to wait it out? “No. What we heard yesterday was a nice boost. But we have to move on. We allknow about the real estate market. There are no affordable spaces. And that iswhy we must cherish and preserve Trav 6 and 12. We really have to fight forthat. And the buildings can easily be part of a new neighbourhood. In fact, itcan be a reinforcing factor. And that is why we will be making a lot of noisein the near future. We also want to seek contact with Groningen politicians.”