Grand 1880s Mansion at the Center of Antwerp, Belgium, Is a Restorer’s Dream

The 10-room trophy home was most recently used as a store and offices for a high-end fashion label

Listing of the Day

Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Price: €10 million (US$10.9 million)

Most recently used as a high-end commercial space, this historic 1800s mansion in the center of the port city of Antwerp offers a range of possibilities for the next owner.

“It doesn’t have to remain a store,” said listing agent Tom Aerts, of Nest Seekers International. “It could be used as a city palace.”

The large storefront windows on the ground floor can be removed, he said. “You can put the wall back up higher and make it a grand residence again.”

“It’s really a trophy house,” he said. “People collect cars, people collect watches, and people collect houses.”

Known as the Geelhand-Meyers Mansion, after its first owner, Raymond Geelhand-Meyers, the grand three-story home was designed by the architect Victor Durlet and built in 1881, according to the listing.

Durlet was a “well-known architect here in Belgium,” Aerts said.

“You feel that history when you walk into the house,” he said. “It has gone through changes, but the authenticity of the house is still intact. The grandeur of the 1800s is still alive in the property.”

The exterior features a white natural stone facade, adorned with blue hardstone accents, and five vertical windows facing out to the street on both of the upper floors, according to the listing. Interior features of the 10-room home include marbled fireplace mantels, inlaid parquet floors, ornate stucco ceilings, a vestibule adorned with Ionian pilasters and a grand central staircase.

The property was transformed into a commercial space in 1993, according to the listing.

Most recently it was used by a “private fashion label for very high-end clothing,” with the owner living on the upper floors, a “living area with a lot of grandeur,” Aerts said. 

The three bedrooms are “all very big, quite sizable,” he said. The store is empty now and the spaces that currently hold offices “can be very nice living rooms.”

The mansion “has such a historic value,” he said. “It needs to be put back in its original form.”

Stats 

The 20,344-square-foot house is currently configured with three bedrooms and three full bathrooms.

Amenities 



Amenities include internal parking for eight to 10 cars, grandly proportioned rooms, a small bar, a gated entry with an entrance hall and fine architectural details throughout.

Neighborhood Notes 



“You’re really, really in the center of Antwerp,” Aerts said. “You really have the nicest shops, fashion boutiques and nice restaurants nearby. It’s all walkable—within 10 minutes you have everything.”

Agents: Tom Aerts and Dieter Vervaet, Nest Seekers International

Source: https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/grand-1880s-mansion-at-the-center-of-antwerp-belgium-is-a-restorers-dream-627fddf9