The new Ostrava district Žofinka is set to begin construction next September

Ostrava - The first residents could move into apartments in the new Ostrava neighborhood of Žofinka, which is set to be developed on the site of the former slag heap of the Žofinská Steelworks, in two and a half years. The Pod Žofinkou Holding company, which is the investor in the project, plans to start construction of the first phase of the neighborhood next September. This was announced to journalists today by Tomáš Laštovka, a member of the company’s board of directors.

"We are talking about 20,000 to 30,000 square meters that will be completed in two and a half years from today," he said. According to him, the first phase should include around 300 apartments. Approximately 60 percent of these will be for sale and 40 percent for rent.

"The first phase consists of three sub-phases, but what we start building next year is worth a billion crowns," Laštovka said. The entire neighborhood's construction will take about 20 years.

The design of the Žofinka neighborhood was decided in an urban-architectural competition. The organizers announced today that there are two winners: the Prague office Pavel Hnilička Architects+Planners and the Danish studio Adept, which participated in the competition alongside Czech firms atelier.tečka, VEN.KU architects, ohboi, and Vectura Pardubice. Laštovka stated that the final winner would be determined by their ability to realize the presented vision and the price they offer.

"We have been in intense negotiations for about three weeks with both partners, and they are now presenting their proposals for both financial and implementation aspects. We want to finalize the contract by the end of July, with the goal that they would immediately start designing the first phase," Laštovka said.

However, he noted that it is not set that the selected architect must carry out the entire project. The second winner of the competition could also participate in the construction of some phases. "The urban concept is similar in many ways, and once the parameters for what can be built in Žofinka are set, which this competition has done, several architects can collaborate on the implementation," Laštovka said.

In the first phase, there should also be shops and services in Žofinka. The second phase will then include a school, which requires a sufficient number of residents in the area. "We need around 700 apartments to be able to launch the first phase of the school. Of course, there will already be grocery stores, some basic services, and this offer will gradually grow as more apartments are built there," Laštovka said.

The neighborhood is to be developed on land near the center of Ostrava between Nová Karolina and the Lower Vítkovice area. The Žofinka brownfield site covers approximately 20 hectares, with about 412,000 square meters to be built. The area is bounded on two sides by railway tracks and bounded on the third by the Ostravice River. The neighborhood will combine housing, administration, and services, connecting the city center with the industrial area of Lower Vítkovice.

"I expect that we will succeed in creating a modern urban neighborhood that Ostrava needs. A place where people will enjoy spending time with their families. They won’t have to commute far to work, and they will spend quality time there," Laštovka said.