The completion of the Culture House Poklad in Ostrava will take longer and be more expensive

Ostrava - The problematic completion of the House of Culture Poklad in the Ostrava district of Poruba will take longer than originally anticipated, and the cost of the reconstruction will be higher. The reason is the necessity of a structural assessment of the building and some additional works, said Deputy Mayor Břetislav Riger (Ostravak) to reporters today.

The building, which had started reconstruction, had to be sealed in 2014 due to disputes with the contractor, and its completion resumed this summer. The technical condition of the building was documented, and from that, three necessary measures arose according to the deputy. It was necessary to prepare the building for winter, and it was essential to prevent water from seeping into the building. “These tasks are essentially just about to be completed,” Riger stated. He added that a structural assessment of the building was also necessary.

“The structural engineer pointed out the possibility of structural instability of the construction after performing basic tests. A structural assessment was conducted and is currently in the phase of being handed over to the contractor. Unofficially, we have information that the conclusions of the structural assessment are such that the construction is structurally sound and only minor structural repairs will be necessary,” Riger explained.

It is already clear that the construction will be finished later than expected. Due to the preparation of the structural assessment, the completion date has been extended from the originally anticipated 60 weeks from the takeover of the building to 69 weeks. “Today, we are looking at a completion date somewhere around November of next year, but this is still very preliminary. I would expect that in connection with further additional works, there may be an extension of the deadline,” Riger estimated.

He recalled that the original cost estimate for the reconstruction was 245 million crowns. Before the construction was halted, it consumed about 37 million crowns. In the new tender, the price then reached almost 149 million crowns excluding VAT. The cost of the works has already increased by two million crowns, but according to the deputy, further increases in price can also be expected.

The completion of the cultural house has been problematic from the beginning. Its original renovation in the past was complicated not only by disputes with one of the former tenants of the premises in the building but also by issues related to the demands for payment of costs for the so-called additional works, which were demanded by the former contractor of the reconstruction. The building ultimately had to be sealed, and the city sought a new contractor who is now reconstructing the building.