Plzeň will support a green roof for the first time on a private panel building

Plzeň – The city of Plzeň will provide funding for the construction of a green roof on a private house for the first time. The construction of lawns, flower beds, benches, and railings, costing 6.9 million crowns, is already being carried out by the owners of 112 apartments from all four entrances of a seven-story panel building in Slovany on Krejčíková Street. The city will contribute 615,000 CZK for the area covering over 600 square meters. This is a groundbreaking step, said Deputy Mayor Michal Vozobule (TOP 09) during today's council meeting.

Green roofs, where one can also spend leisure time, are still a rarity in the Czech Republic. In Plzeň, this will be the first such roof on a panel building that is 100 meters long and 55 years old. Residents, whose community has taken out a loan for the rooftop park, will be able to relax there. Green roofs retain rainwater and reduce runoff, cool and improve the microclimate, and decrease dustiness.

"It's almost unbelievable that four entrances agreed on this. We found a way to support it through the city’s environmental fund. We will mainly finance the greenery," Vozobule said. According to him, this could encourage other private projects, which may also receive subsidies. The amount depends on the funds available in the fund, which is replenished by administrative fees and fines.

Funding for these projects also comes from the Plzeň foundation Green Treasure, which provided 300,000 CZK last year for a green roof at the TJ Slavoj area, known as Masny, near the center. "We will try to combine types of financing because we want to support these initiatives not only on municipal buildings," Vozobule stated. The foundation, which subsidizes non-profit organizations, schools, and kindergartens, has already supported a rain garden at a kindergarten in Resslová Street and a small green roof at a school in Černice.

The city will also build another green roof at the 4th elementary school. Additionally, there will be green roofs on all planned parking structures. The largest project, unique even within the Czech Republic, will be a new tram depot in Slovany, which will feature a green roof covering 16,000 square meters. "That would be an ideally suited project for the area. Not only will the operation be mostly sheltered and not noisy, but it will also be more visually appealing and will not overheat the surroundings, unlike other industrial areas in the city," said the deputy. New investments by the city will always include a green roof in their design. If there isn't one, the city investor must always justify why it wasn't feasible, according to the deputy.

Green roofs are already present in Plzeň at the faculty hospital on the oncology pavilion and on the parking structure.