H. Králové is preparing a renovation of Benešova Street for half a billion

Hradec Králové - The bleak condition of the problematic Benešova Street in the largest housing estate in Hradec Králové, Moravské Předměstí, is set to change significantly. The city council on Tuesday, after discussing proposals from architects with citizens, recommended the approval of a redevelopment project by Studio AP to the city assembly. The value of the reconstruction is approximately half a billion crowns. Josef Malíř, the deputy of the Hradec Králové city hall, said this today to ČTK.
The proposal primarily includes the demolition of the reinforced concrete covered walkways near the panel houses that have been damaged by rust. The road is to be narrowed to two lanes. Greenery, parking spaces, new sidewalks, and bike paths will be added in the middle of the street. Shops on the ground floor of the buildings will be directly accessible from the street, rather than from iron ramps. In some non-residential spaces of the buildings, duplex apartments will be created.
The city aims to obtain most of the funding for the revitalization of the street and buildings from European Union funds. If everything goes smoothly, the city hall would like to start the reconstruction in 2009 and gradually complete it in several phases over three to four years.
The four-lane street surrounded by multi-story buildings for 10,000 residents was created in the 1980s and aimed to become a new shopping and social center of the city. Now, some architects label it as a remnant of the megalomania of the communist regime, which does not meet today’s housing needs.
The costly repairs were discussed by the Hradec Králové councilor already this spring, at which point they had already selected the simplest project from Studio AP. However, the assembly postponed the final decision until the public and experts could express their opinions on the three architectural proposals. The councilors' decision was not supported by representatives of the Hradec Králové Atelier Zídka-Plocek-Misík, whose project the council did not recommend. "The Studio AP project clearly won with the residents," said Malíř.
Architect Karel Plocek from Atelier Zídka-Plocek-Misík previously stated that the councilors chose only a superficial solution. Plocek and his colleagues proposed the construction of multi-story buildings and two high-rise buildings in the central part of Benešova Street. Such reconstruction would cost 3.75 billion crowns, of which over four-fifths would be covered by developers. Residents of Benešova Street rejected the construction of additional houses in a survey.