Old immigration building to have new face
Old immigration building to have new face
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After a long delay, the renovation of the former Central Jakarta
immigration office in Menteng, Central Jakarta, is expected to
see the light of day by the end of this year.
City Culture and Museum Agency head Aurora Tambunan told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday that the delay was partly owing to a
limited budget allocation.
"We will complete the entire physical restoration of the
heritage building in December. We are now in the process of
selecting one among several companies to manage the building,"
she said.
Each of the companies has experience in handling heritage
buildings and has expressed interest in using the renovated
building, she said.
She added the agency would go with the concept of a private
management, which will transform the building into a "unique
venue" for all Jakartans to hold activities there aside from
using a part of the building for commercial purposes.
The administration allocated Rp 6.1 billion last year to
restore the building.
Aurora said that the agency would proceed with the plan to
refurbish the heritage building so that it was well-integrated
with its neighborhood.
"For instance, we plan to use the space under Gondangdia
railway overpass for parking," she said.
The main building of the compound on Jl. Teuku Umar 1, is
believed to be the first concrete building built during the Dutch
colonial era. It originally functioned as a center for the arts
where opera performances were held.
Named the Netherlands-Indische Kunstkring (the Netherlands-
Indies Art Circle), the building was designed by Dutch architect
Pieter Adriaan Jacobus Moojen in 1912 and its construction
started in the same year.
The building was used as the Central Jakarta immigration
office until 1997 when it was handed over to a private developer
in 1998 through a land swap deal.
Unfortunately, the developer had not cared for the building at
all. Most of the antique fixtures -- including light fittings,
window and door frames -- went missing. The developer even
planned to demolish it to build a new building on the land.
The public as well history buffs rose to oppose the plan and
managed to force the administration to reclaim the building from
the developer for a hefty Rp 28 billion in 2002.
Groups concerned with the fast disappearing heritage sites in
Jakarta have long complained of the administration's poor
attention to the preservation of historically significant
buildings across the capital, while the administration has
repeatedly argued that it could not preserve them well since most
of them are privately owned.
Out of 216 heritage buildings, which are protected under a
gubernatorial decree, only 40 are owned by the government, of
which only 15 buildings belong to the city administration.
Most of those buildings are now in a poor condition, including
a Chinese mansion built in the 17th century, known as Candranaya
building located on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta.
The red-brick mansion looks shabby with parts of it damaged
and wild bushes growing around it. It is located right in the
middle of a deserted modern high rise building.
Two security guards at the scene hesitated to allow the Post
to get closer to the old mansion.
"You are allowed to see it, but only for a few minutes and you
must promise not to take pictures of it," one of them said.