The winner of the competition to transform the Zlín locality Smurf City is Koma Modular

Zlín – The winner of the competition for the use of land in the Zlín housing estate Jižní Svahy in the area known as Smurf City is the Vizovice-based manufacturer of modular systems, Koma Modular. The company will acquire an area of nearly 5600 m² on a twenty-year lease, said city spokesman Tomáš Melzer today. The commission selected from two offers. The other participant in the competition was the Smurf City Zlín association, representing the current operators of businesses in the area. The city leadership wants to change the appearance of Smurf City. There are bars, pubs, and a confectionery in small, rather outdated buildings.

"The winning offer consists of the construction of a completely new building and promises a modern use and approach to providing services. The building will be constructed from a modular system that allows for variability. The winning offer is unique, innovative, and modern in the conditions of Zlín," said Mayor Jiří Korec (ANO).

Currently, other owners' buildings stand on city land. "The city council of Zlín simultaneously with the selection of the most suitable offer approved the termination of lease contracts. Specifically, this concerns 16 contracts for land and one lease for non-residential space. The tenants of the land, the owners of the buildings, will have the obligation to vacate the land or remove the buildings at their own expense by the end of the three-month notice period. The tenant of the non-residential space has a six-month notice period agreed with the city," said the spokesman.

The city wants to prepare the land for new construction. "The tenants will be promptly sent their notices, with the notice period starting on July 1, 2024," said Deputy Mayor Pavel Brada. The current operators, who are tenants on city land, sought to maintain their businesses. When the city announced plans for the area's renewal last year, they opposed the termination of lease contracts and the demolition of the buildings, forming an association and writing a petition in their support. They proposed possible modifications to Smurf City, but did not reach an agreement with the city leadership, and the council announced the intention to lease the land.

Brada previously stated that Smurf City was leased from 1993 to 2003. "All entities that entered into this knew it was for a period of ten years, and now they are three times over that. However, the current state is definitely not a showcase for the city,” Brada stated.

Last year, the city offered tenants that it would take over the buildings and the costs of their removal. Only three owners wanted to accept this option. "Simultaneously with sending the notices, the city of Zlín will, just like last autumn, make a similar offer. It will again be an offer for the gratuitous transfer of the buildings to the city's ownership, which would mean that the city would also ensure the removal of the buildings, and the operations could function until mid-October. I think this is a very advantageous offer for the tenants of the buildings," Brada stated.