Construction site of Antwerp's landmark Boerentoren opens to public
The Boerentoren building site in Antwerp will be opened to the general public from next week, with guided tours lasting three hours.
The skyscraper was sold to entrepreneur Fernand Huts’ company Katoen Natie in 2020. In 2022, he announced plans to extend the tower with a design by architect Daniel Libeskind.
His plans caused some controversy, partly because a glass structure would be placed on top of the tower. A new design has not yet been published.
Huts wants to demolish the top three floors and replace them with a glass structure. “Everything is in function of the panorama,” he says. “We'll provide an open ceiling so that people can look at historic Antwerp, the port and the Scheldt in all weathers.”
The tower will eventually house Trinity, the skeletons of three T Rexes that Huts bought at auction in 2023 for 5.6 million euros. It is currently being displayed at a dinosaur museum in Zurich.
Huts will submit the application for an environmental permit for the landmark tower at the end of June. The city of Antwerp is expected to make a decision on the demolition of the tower’s top in the coming weeks.
Farmers' union
The building, also known as the KBC Tower or the Farmers’ Tower, was built between 1928 and 1931 in Art Deco style. With an original height of 87.5m, it was the first skyscraper in Europe.
It was constructed for the World Exhibition in 1930 by the Middenkredietbank, which managed savings from farmers and the Farmer’s Union. Later it became the property of Kredietbank and KBC, whose logo is on the top of the tower.
The site will open on 1 May and will be open for viewing until 30 June, seven days a week. Guided visits can be booked via the website of the Phoebus Foundation, Huts’ philanthropic organisation. Visits cost 15 euros and involve climbing 24 flights of stairs.
#FlandersNewsService | Fernand Huts at the Boerentoren in Antwerp, 24 April 2025 © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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