Development of the area as the new seat of government started with Governor-General Herman Willem Daendels. He ordered the destruction of Batavia Castle and the city wall of the old town to provide bricks for a new palace. The chosen site for the new building is the Waterlooplein in Weltevreden. Construction of the palace began on March 7, 1809. The plan shows a grand residence intended as the private palace for the governor-general flanked with much smaller buildings for administrative work. Despite Daendels' intention to reside in the new palace, he never had the chance to stay because he was ordered by Napoleon to command the Grande Armée and was soon stationed in Modlin Fortress, Poland. Daendels' successor, Governor-General Janssens, installed thatched roof on the unfinished parts of the building. When construction stopped in 1811 following the British invasion of Java, the work was only half finished. With the governor's palace unfinished, the Governor-General of Batavia would reside at the mansion of van Braam in Rijswijk (now Jalan Veteran)