The representatives of the Liberec Region approved the parameters for the purchase of the hotel and transmitter Ještěd

Liberec – The representatives of the Liberec Region today approved the parameters and conditions for the purchase of the Ještěd hotel and transmitter from Czech Radiocommunications (ČRa). 34 out of 43 present representatives voted in favor of acquiring the valuable building for 181 million crowns. The price is not final, as the regional governor Martin Půta (Mayors for the Liberec Region) indicated that the valuation of movable property is still being worked on. The representatives are expected to approve the purchase agreement by November at the latest.

Negotiations for the acquisition of the building, which has been a national cultural monument since 2006, have been ongoing for more than a year. "I believe we will be able to discuss the purchase agreement in November, and in December we will pay the purchase price from the funds that we have been gradually saving this year,” added the governor. ČRa is expected to pay an annual fee of approximately 3.5 million crowns including VAT for the use of the broadcasting hall, offices, and space for the placement of technology. The building needs reconstruction estimated to cost at least 400 million crowns.

According to Půta, Liberec Region should not have a problem paying for Ještěd this year; for the first eight months of this year, the region's income is about 170 million crowns higher than what the regional budget had anticipated for this year. Additionally, the budget has allocated 25 million crowns, as the region’s leadership initially planned to spread the payment over installments. However, according to the governor, it will be more advantageous for the region to pay the entire amount at once.

The value of Ještěd was determined by auditors from Deloitte Advisory using an income approach. The usual price determination requires comparison, but Ještěd is such a unique object that it cannot be assessed through standard comparisons. There is nothing to compare it with. The contract stipulates that the price of the easement for ČRa will increase by inflation, but by a maximum of five percent. After the building's reconstruction, a new assessment of the easement will be based on the investment in the hotel, restaurant, and transmitter spaces, according to the governor.

Representatives from the opposition party ANO had reservations about the purchase parameters; some abstained from voting. According to David Pražák (ANO), the building has dozens of defects that will pose significant problems in the future, such as a water source and underground utilities on foreign land, or unclear sewage routing. "I don’t know why there is such urgency; let’s resolve these issues first, and then it can be bought even at a higher price,” he said. The chair of the financial committee of the council, Tomáš Hocke (Mayors for the Liberec Region), also acknowledged many problems but still recommended the purchase.

Josef Chuchlík (ANO) even proposed to withdraw the material from the council's discussion. "I haven’t read such a poorly constructed proposal to the detriment of the region in a long time,” he said. He criticized particularly the setting of the easement, where the conditions favor the future tenant, and that the easement would be registered in the land register before the sale. He also criticized, for instance, that without the consent of ČRa, nothing could be built within 500 meters, which could complicate Liberec's planned construction of a new cable car.

The mountain hotel and transmitter Ještěd has been in operation since 1973 and is one of the most original architectural works in the Czech Republic. Architect Karel Hubáček received the prestigious international Perret Award in 1969 for the project. People chose the building as the Czech construction of the 20th century. ČRa has owned the hotel and transmitter since 2000, having purchased it for 85 million crowns and invested additional tens of millions in repairs. Last year, ČRa offered Ještěd to the Ministry of Culture, but it has no interest in this valuable building listed on the indicative UNESCO heritage list.