Warenhuis Medan Historical Building Revitalization Is Auctioned This Month

Warenhuis Building on Ahmad Yani VII Street, Medan, North Sumatra. (ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Medan City)

MEDAN - The Medan City Government, North Sumatra, stated that the revitalization of the historic Warenhuis building on Ahmad Yani VII Street, Medan will be auctioned off this month.

"The tender for the Warenhuis Building will start this February as well," said the Head of the Medan City Housing, Human Settlements, and Spatial Planning Office, Endar Sutan Lubis, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, February 12.

City Government will determine the winner who is professional in handling this cultural heritage historic building.

The Warenhuis building, which is included in the Kesawan Old Town area, will later become an expo center, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and creative young people as well as culinary activities.

It is known, the Warenhuis Building is the first supermarket in Medan City built in 1916 by German architect G Bos, and opened to the public in 1919 with the inauguration of the first Medan Mayor Daniel Baron Mackay.

"This is a work of art, and you also have to be an expert on cultural heritage. Nothing can change there, because of that we estimate the working time is more than one year," said Endar.

His party has budgeted for the revitalization of the first former supermarket building in Medan City in a multi-year project or multi-year contract sourced from the Medan City APBD.

"We made it multiyear and as far as I can remember the budget was IDR 32 billion, purely from the Medan City APBD," he explained.

In developing the tourism and economic potential of this historic building, continued Endar, the Medan City Government has procured land next to the Warenhuis Building for culinary activities.

"If we look at it, PT Terang Bulan Jaya is next to it. We have already paid for two of the four parcels owned by him," he explained.

Currently, the Kesawan area is being reorganized by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, including historical buildings in the city of Medan as an effort to return Kesawan to an old city.

"In general, this arrangement returns the Kesawan area as an old city or cultural heritage. But it can be used for economic development, especially MSMEs and also supports the Kitchen of Asia program," said Endar.