Brno wants to build 300 apartments on Kamenný vrch for 900 million

Brno - Brno plans to build 300 apartments in the Kamenný vrch II area. The estimated costs are 900 million crowns, said Deputy Mayor Oliver Pospíšil (ČSSD) to reporters today. Half of the apartments are intended for cooperative housing, while the rest will be starter apartments for young people, apartments for seniors, or those with disabilities. Construction is expected to take place between 2022 and 2024. The city will cover the costs from the housing fund, but it is expected to recover half of the funds from participants in the cooperative housing.

The Kamenný vrch II area is located above Petra Křivky Street in the Nový Lískovec district. Brno considers it one of the key development areas. The city council updated the construction plan today. "Compared to the original plan, the approach has mainly changed. The eastern part was to have three phases, which we have now combined into one. The western part of the area remains as a reserve for residential construction with a time gap of about ten years. It is separated from the eastern part by a planned park," Pospíšil said.

In the eastern part, up to 300 apartments are to be built in the coming years. Of these, the city will utilize 150 for cooperative housing, which was approved as a new initiative last year. The city will establish a cooperative with interested apartment buyers, which will take out a mortgage to build a house on the city-owned land. After the mortgage is repaid, the city will exit the cooperative, and ownership of the apartment will transfer to the owner. Thus, half of the costs from the estimated 900 million crowns could be covered by the cooperative members.

Brno already received over 700 applications for cooperative housing last year. Czechs or people from European Union countries aged between 18 and 36 could apply, with a monthly income as a single parent or a couple ranging from 35,000 to 50,000 crowns net. Applicants must not own property and must have saved between 400,000 and 700,000 crowns, with the remainder to be paid in monthly installments.

The remaining apartments to be created in Kamenný vrch II would serve young families, seniors, or those with disabilities. Brno owns nearly 30,000 apartments, which is about 15 percent of the total number of apartments in the city. The rest are privately owned.