The V&D building in Gorinchem has been let. Frisian company Kooistra.com bv will open a Maxx there in a few weeks, a department store with an ever-changing range. ''We aim to be open before the end of this month,'' says board member Tjitse Lawerman.

Gorinchem-based Michon Vastgoed found the temporary tenant for the nearly 5,400-square-metre store at the foot of the Grote Kerk. The property, owned by the Stichting Pensioenfonds Openbaar Vervoer, has now been vacant for just over a year. V&D closed its doors permanently in the Arkel city on 19 April last year.

Michon delivered the property to Lawerman on Monday evening. ''It will be something really nice,'' said Michon, who himself lives in Gorinchem. ''Even if it is temporary. The owner is working on a future plan for the property. Until this is ready, Kooistra.com will rent it. At least until the end of the year.''

Lawerman: ,,This week the scaffolding will go in and then we will fill the premises. We will start on the ground floor and continue upstairs. But once the shop floor downstairs is filled, the doors will open. That will take us an estimated three weeks or so. We have basically rented the former V&D until December.''

Kooistra.com bv is more often looking after someone else's shop. ,,We always open our Maxx stores on a temporary rental basis. With our shops, we make sure premises are back in use until the owner starts working on other ideas. As a result, the number always varies: we currently have a Maxx XXXL department store in Groningen which mainly sells camping and outdoor articles. And our warehouse in Friesland temporarily transforms into a consumer outlet once in a while.''

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