The object in the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava will probably not be rebuilt in time

Ostrava - The reinforced concrete building opposite the House of Culture in the city of Ostrava will likely not be completed by the end of the year, as the contract between the city and the owner, Red House, stipulated. The city has repeatedly approached with a request to transfer the property to Smart Innovation Center (SIC), which should complete the problematic construction. However, it wants to postpone the deadline to the end of August next year, Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO) said to reporters today.

The city councilors were also supposed to discuss the next steps in the construction of the so-called skeleton today, but they ultimately withdrew the material from the meeting. They want to return to it at the November meeting. "We want to use that month to increase pressure so that construction finally starts," Macura stated. He reminded that nothing has been done on the construction site for several months.

According to the mayor, the owner of the property is still the Red House company, which has a contract with the city according to which the entire building was supposed to be completed by December 31, 2017. "Even from a layman's perspective, it is clear that this is not realistic," said Macura. According to him, Red House is seeking to transfer the property to SIC. Therefore, the city wants to prepare the necessary contractual documentation to minimize risks for the city before the next council meeting.

Red House Development purchased the property for about 53 million crowns in 2008. In the past, the city had several times requested an extension of the deadline for its completion, and no work had been done on the partly constructed property, which had been deteriorating in the city for about 25 years. In June two years ago, the council initially rejected the owner's request for a further extension of the completion deadline. Eventually, both parties agreed on the conditions for completing the construction. Reconstruction began in March last year, and according to the contractual addendum, the cladding of the building, i.e., the facade and roof, had to be completed by the end of 2016, which the company fulfilled. However, it later requested that the completion be taken over by Smart Innovation Center. The takeover was already addressed by the councilors in May when they agreed to allow the sale of the property. However, according to Macura, the contract never came into effect because SIC failed to provide the requested bank guarantees for the contractual penalty that the company would have to pay if it did not complete the construction.

If the city does not agree to extend the completion deadline, according to Macura, it still has the option to withdraw from the contract with Red House at the end of March 2018, according to the valid contracts. In that case, it should regain the property.

The partly constructed building was originally supposed to be the regional headquarters of the Communist Party. After 1989, it remained standing as a remnant of the past regime. It is located in a relatively busy area near the cultural house and regional office.