Kolín is preparing a social services center with a home for seniors with 90 places

Kolín – Kolín continues preparations for the establishment of a Center for Social Services on the southwestern edge of the city. The main component will be a retirement home with a capacity of 90 places in five barrier-free bungalows. The facility will also include support for a care service, which is currently located in the polyclinic building. Since last week, the city has an urban and architectural study of a possible solution for the area and is preparing a competition for design works. This was stated by Kolín's Deputy Mayor Roman Šulc (Change for Kolín) to reporters.

"We have a tender for design works ahead of us, and this will take at least a year, followed by the selection of the contractor, which with all the appeals will take another year. And then construction could begin," Šulc commented on the timeline. If everything goes according to plan, the home could be operational by 2030, according to him.

The center is set to be built on the sites opposite Kaufland, with access planned from the intersection of U Nemocnice and Benešova streets. Each bungalow will have three households with a total capacity of 18 places in single rooms. The individual buildings are to be arranged around a park circuit and connected by a covered path. The complex will include meeting places, communal activities, gardens, and front yards.

The city wants to use subsidies for the construction of the home. "To qualify for the subsidy under current conditions, the capacity must be calculated for single rooms, but we will prepare the rooms as double occupancy with the possibility of expansion," Šulc added. After the five-year sustainability period ends, the city can increase the capacity, but according to Šulc, not exceeding 150 beds, planning to maintain the proportion of single rooms.

After the completion of the new home, clients from the current senior home Nad Zastávkou will move in. It will subsequently require more significant modifications, and the city will address the issue of its further use; it could serve, for example, as a respite service. Kolín currently offers places for 96 seniors in two homes. This October, the pension for seniors on Slovenská Street will expand by 16 beds, where work on the construction of an evacuation staircase and elevator is nearing completion. Once finished, it will be possible to fill the vacant beds, which could not be used for safety reasons.