The Federal Government has already had to pay €56,000 in fines for failing to renovate the Résidence Palace's Art Deco swimming pool and theatre in the European Quarter. Now Brussels authorities are pushing to complete the restoration by 2025 – an Art Deco year.
The Art Deco swimming pool has been closed since 2002. While the Federal Government undertook some renovation works for the adjacent European Press Centre in 2014, the pool and theatre remained untouched even though the restoration was provided for in the building permit.
"On 5 December, I met State Secretary Mathieu Michel to draw his attention to the necessary restoration of this Art Deco pearl," Brussels State Secretary for Urban Planning Ans Persoons told the Brussels parliament's Territorial Development Committee on Monday.
Residence Palace's swimming pool. Credit: Buildings Agency
After several warnings, the Brussels-Capital Region issued fines, the first of which amounted to nearly €6,000 in 2018, then €12,000 in 2019, and another of almost €39,000 in 2020.
While the fines have been paid, the Federal Government has still not started the restoration work, even though the European Press Centre is currently being renovated again as part of Belgium's upcoming European presidency. "Paying the fines does not relieve the Federal Government of the obligation to renovate," Persoons stressed, adding that the Brussels-Capital Region will launch a new fine procedure.
She said that the Federal Government "must" finish restoring the swimming pool and the theatre by 2025, as that year is scheduled to shine a light on all the Art Deco in Brussels – "a nice goal to work towards," Persoons said.
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The Residence Palace was built between 1922 and 1927. The developer Lucien Kaisin wanted to turn it into a luxury complex that included flats as well as a hotel.
A fine example of Art Deco, the Residence Palace was divided into ten "quarters" and consisted of 180 flats of different sizes that could house hundreds of people. The complex also had ultra-modern comforts such as hot and cold water, electricity, central heating, a goods lift, a tennis court on the roof – aiming to create a small town within a larger whole.
However, the complex was occupied by the Nazis in 1941 and could not be revived after the war. Looking for large buildings to house government departments, the Belgian State bought the building in 1947.
