Zlín councilors allocated 25 million for the demolition of the ruins in the housing estate

source: zlin.cz

Zlín - Zlín city councilors today allocated 25 million korunas from the city budget for the demolition of the unfinished structure of a shopping center in the Jižní Svahy housing estate. The demolition is expected to take place next year. The concrete skeleton was built in 1988 and subsequently fell into disrepair; last year, at the end of the year, the councilors decided that the city would purchase it. The future use of the land, covering approximately 39,000 m², will be decided by the city hall in the future, and residents will also express their opinions in a survey regarding its fate.
The demolition of the skeleton was originally planned for this year. "I want to apologize to the public for the fact that the skeleton is still standing. I especially promised that it would be removed by the end of this year, which unfortunately will not happen. We did manage to finalize the purchase of the property and surrounding land and the registration of this property in the land register in the first half of the year, but it turned out that preparing for the removal of the skeleton is more time-consuming than we had anticipated. It's really a huge pile of concrete. However, we already have the funds approved, we are preparing for the demolition, so the skeleton will definitely disappear in 2016," said Mayor Miroslav Adámek (STAN).
In the first phase, the reinforced concrete skeleton will be removed; in the second phase, outdoor and terrain modifications of the entire area are planned. Representatives of the coalition, namely STAN and ANO, explained to the opposition today why the original offers counted for ten or 17 million for the removal of the skeleton. However, earlier offers, according to the councilors, only included the disposal of the above-ground part; now the foundation slab will also be addressed. "We will go four meters underground," said councilor Josef Novák (STAN), who stated that a dump for crushed concrete material would also be created on-site, which would be used for new sidewalks. According to the councilors, the final price for the demolition should decrease through a bidding process. The use of the unfinished structure for further construction was deemed impossible according to the latest static assessment.
The opposition also pointed out that it should already be clear what will be built in the area after the demolition. However, the city leadership believes that it would be hasty and that there is currently no money for it; the city hall would like to utilize some grant title.
The city has been trying to purchase the unfinished structure for several years, and it finally succeeded after complicated negotiations last year, having to come to an agreement with the property owner and the Austrian bank where it was mortgaged. The municipality bought the building and the adjacent land for 53 million korunas. This year, the city is operating with a slightly surplus budget, expecting revenues of 1.25 billion korunas, while expenses are projected to be about 400,000 korunas lower.