The completion of the building at the Ostrava House of Culture is still uncertain

Ostrava - The future of the unfinished reinforced concrete building opposite the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava is uncertain. Ostrava city councilors rejected a request last week for the transfer of the property from its current owner, Red House Development, to Smart Innovation Center (SIC), which is interested in completing the building. Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO) told reporters today that the contentious material could be addressed by the councilors again in December.

"The city is in a situation where it has a valid legal relationship with the investor, which at this moment is Red House Development. According to this contract, the investor is required to complete the building by New Year's Eve of this year, which is clearly a deadline from the realm of dreams," noted Macura.

According to him, it is clear that the building cannot be completed on time. In that case, starting in January, the city can impose penalties, and by the end of March, it may withdraw from the contract and regain ownership of the unfinished skeleton and land. SIC aimed to take over and complete the construction from the current owner. "The company requested an extension of the deadline by nine months and offered the city 15 million crowns as compensation, which it basically deposited into the city's account, along with bank guarantees for any future financial penalties," said Macura. However, the proposal was still not passed by the council. "What the further development will be will be shown in the coming weeks. The SIC company indicated that it would like the December city council to return to this topic. We expect some action from them in this sense. Personally, I condition it on the fact that, if this is to be a topic at the December council, there should be some progress registered on the construction in that remaining period (until the council meets)," said Macura.

Michal Burian from SIC said today to ČTK that the company remains interested in taking over the building and completing the entire project. He would be pleased if the city council addressed the issue again in December. "I received a grant from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the project; I basically have it approved, it's just waiting for me to start construction," said Burian. According to him, however, the company cannot carry out work on a building that does not legally belong to it. "I cannot invest in someone else's property," he added. He believes that he has met all the city's conditions so far.

Red House Development purchased the building for approximately 53 million crowns in 2008. In the past, the city had repeatedly requested an extension of the deadline for its completion, and no work was done on the unfinished building, which has deteriorated in the city for about 25 years. The city council initially rejected the owner's renewed request for an extension of the completion deadline in June two years ago. Eventually, both parties agreed on the conditions for completing the construction. Renovation began last March, and according to the contractual amendment, the building's cladding, namely the facade and roof, had to be completed by the end of 2016, which the company fulfilled. However, it then requested that the construction be taken over by Smart Innovation Center, and the transfer of the building has not yet been resolved.