Molenheide office complex on Geldropseweg in Mierlo is being converted for the temporary shelter of 25 Ukrainian refugees. The municipality bought the building, including the associated forest, for €2,500,000. It is not clear whether the location is also an option for an asylum seekers’ centre.
According to ED (Eindhoven daily newspaper), the site is 12.5 hectares in total. In the middle of the forest plot lies a residential-office complex, dating from the sixties of the last century. The building was first a house, but has been used as an office in recent years. The municipality calls it ‘very large, but also inefficient’. Hence the renovation: the sanitary facilities are being upgraded, broken windows are being replaced and the whole building is being painted. A communal kitchen is also being built in.
The intention is for the first Ukrainians to live there in mid-November. The municipality calls it a strategic purchase, which is now temporarily being used to accommodate Ukrainians. The municipal authorities recently presented a plan to better organise the housing of asylum seekers. Last summer, there was already talk of an asylum seekers’ centre (azc*) for three hundred asylum seekers, for a period of ten to fifteen years. More clarity on this should be available at the beginning of 2025.
Few locations
During the presentation of the budget it also became clear that there are relatively few locations in Geldrop-Mierlo for establishing an asylum seekers’ centre. There is therefore no list of possible locations. According to the distribution law that is still in force, the municipality must accommodate 231 asylum seekers. Geldrop-Mierlo currently only meets the quota of 54 minor refugees.
In addition, the municipality has the task of housing 232 Ukrainian refugees. When Molenheide is finished, 212 will live in Geldrop-Mierlo. There are plans to place a few temporary units for the remaining twenty.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
