A half-built castle close to the A6 motorway near Almere is finally set to be finished, 25 years after construction first began, broadcaster RTLZ reported at the weekend.

The building will become part of a new residential neighbourhood with between 800 and 1,000 homes and has been sold, together with the surrounding land, to a partnership between developer BPD and local housing association GoedeStede. Financial details were not disclosed.

Plans to build the castle date back to around the turn of the millennium, inspired by an existing castle in the Ardennes in Belgium. It was intended to become a local tourist attraction, with a hotel and conference facilities.

However, spiralling construction costs pushed the project’s budget into the tens of millions, forcing the original developers to abandon it. In 2005, the ruin was sold to current owner Jaap Kevelam for €9.2 million.

Since then, the unfinished castle has stood as a silent concrete skeleton in the surrounding fields. Previous attempts to develop an amusement park or an eco-friendly residential district on the site failed to materialise.

The new owners and the local authority are now working on a new proposal, which must still be approved by the city council.

“This location could become something unique that Almere does not yet have,” Dick Boekhout, development manager at BPD, told RTLZ. “We are currently thinking about a modern fortified village for all ages, with homes in every price range. The castle would have a prominent place, perhaps with a café and other facilities.”

Almere housing chief Paul Tang said he is hopeful the project will finally move forward after years of setbacks.

“The main requirement we have set for any new building plans on this site is that the castle is finished,” he told RTLZ. “The castle has become a symbol of our municipality. I want people to be able to hop on their bikes and visit it, without having to sneak through the fences anymore.”