Amsterdam puts ghost garage on Staringplein up for sale: after many disruptions and high costs, the municipality gives up

For sale: underground parking garage in a popular neighborhood in Oud-West. Space for sixty cars, which disappear underground via a lift, fully automated, and emerge again with a maximum waiting time of three minutes. Defects: the garage has suffered from technical defects from the start and the municipality has given up trying to make the parking garage problem-free.

The garage has not been in use since June 2020. That closure was the culmination of years of temporary closures. The problems started immediately after the opening. The elevator malfunctioned, cars were not recognized or there was a problem in the software. The parking garage swallowed cars. Due to the many problems, the Staringplein Parking Garage was soon called the Storingplein Parking Garage.

In the meantime, the supplier of the elevator system also went bankrupt. The construction of the garage cost 3.2 million euros. In 2017, another investment of 1.5 million euros was made in a vain attempt to get the garage up and running. In 2020, the plan was to replace the entire parking system, but now the municipality has come to the conclusion that this is not feasible and a buyer is being sought.

Improved approach

“The Staringplein garage has faced challenges from the start,” says a spokesperson for the municipality. “After problems, a renovation in 2017, and the bankruptcy of the management party in 2020, we acknowledge that the original investment did not deliver the expected results. We have learned from this situation and are now taking an improved approach to such projects. We are currently investigating whether a sales process is possible.”

The spokesperson cannot say which party is interested in a broken parking garage. “Possible destinations are now being investigated. We want to involve the neighborhood. How we do this will soon be discussed with the district. Residents can always submit ideas on their own initiative.”

Local resident Paul Fennis has been wondering for years what should be done with the ghost garage. “People already joke: from an underground swimming pool to a mushroom farm. A bicycle shed would be nice, because we are inundated with bicycles in the neighborhood. And now the municipality is working on a destination that, as they communicate, also does justice to the neighborhood. Yes, hello. There is a parking garage right next door. But with a different parking system.”

Always been a bit of a loser

Local resident Ralph Stuyver jokes: “It is also an ideal location for house parties. It is of course nice to discuss this with residents, but yes, some bitterness remains among the residents. Because public money has been thrown into a hole for years, and now we are going to come up with something new.”

Fennis has only used the garage about three or four times. Fennis: “I took out a subscription immediately after the opening. But then friends of mine had to go to a funeral, and their car was stuck. I immediately handed in my card and got my deposit back.”

Stuyver kept trying all the while, with intervals. Stuyver: “But if I really needed my car the next day, I parked it on the street, because I couldn’t risk that. That garage has always been a problem from the start. In a word, it is a disgrace. Nothing happened for a long time and we residents just kept waiting. I now hope that the parking spaces will be retained.”

Fennis hopes so too. “The smartest thing would be to turn it into a garage again. That would lighten the neighborhood with sixty parking spaces.”

About the author: Hans van der Beek has been working for Het Parool for over 25 years. In the past he had popular columns such as Hans Halveert and Schuim, now he mainly writes Amsterdam background stories and reports.