Ostrava will purchase the Elektrocentrála building from Multi Development

Ostrava - The city of Ostrava will buy the historic Power Plant from the company Multi Development. The building, along with the Central Office, is one of the two heritage-protected buildings that remain on the site of the former Karolina coke plant, where a new part of the city is now being developed. The city is expected to purchase the building from the company for a symbolic price, said the mayor's deputy Lukáš Ženatý (ODS) today to ČTK.
    He added that the amount for which the city will purchase the building is likely to be known during the next week. "I cannot say now whether we will buy it for a crown, a hundred, or a thousand crowns, but it definitely will not be the appraised price," Ženatý stated.
    The city has abandoned its original plan to create a public benefit corporation that would take care of the renovation of the buildings and their subsequent operation. According to Ženatý, it will be more advantageous for the city to own both buildings because it will be easier to obtain funds from European funds. Additionally, after the renovation, the city will retain two buildings in a lucrative location, thinks Ženatý. He added that the company Multi Development also pledged to fulfill its original obligations and participate in the renovation and subsequent operation. The costs for the renovation of the historic buildings are estimated by the city at approximately 200 million crowns.
    The company Multi Development purchased the Power Plant building from a private owner before the announcement of the results of the development competition that the city announced for the construction of the area. The company ultimately won the development competition.
    The new Karolina will be built on an area of 32 hectares, and will be more than seven times larger than Prague's Wenceslas Square. A total of 97,000 square meters of retail space, 67,000 square meters of office space, and 78,000 square meters designated for housing will be created. The area will also have 3,500 parking spaces. The entire project is divided into four phases and is expected to be completed in 2016. The total costs are expected to be around 15 billion crowns. The last buildings of the former Karolina coke plant were demolished 20 years ago, and the site had to be decontaminated for ten years.