The House of Culture Poklad in Ostrava will begin renovation in June

Ostrava - The reconstruction of the House of Culture Poklad in the Ostrava district of Poruba will resume in June. The construction, costing nearly 355 million crowns, must be completed by January 2021. This was stated today by the mayor's deputy Zuzana Bajgarová (ANO). The problematic construction will be completed by the third contractor in line.

The city announced a public tender last autumn and selected a consortium of firms Zlínstav, Geosan Group, and Ridera Stavební from eight bids. In May, they intended to sign a contract, but that has not yet happened. "Last Wednesday, the deadline for submitting objections to the public contract expired," Bajgarová stated. According to her, the winner of the tender is still providing some documents necessary for the contract's conclusion. "A schedule has already arrived, which defines the start for the second week in June," the deputy added. Currently, they are waiting for the submission of a bank guarantee that the city requires. The amount of the guarantee is 15 million crowns. The city expects that everything could be resolved by the end of the week, and immediately afterward, a contract could be signed with the contractor. This will likely happen at the turn of the month.

The renovation of the cultural house has been ongoing for several years and has been problematic from the start. Repairs in the past were complicated not only by disputes with one of the former tenants of the space in the building but also by issues related to the demands for payment of costs for so-called additional work that the previous contractor of the reconstruction wanted. The reconstructed building was put on hold in 2014, and the city searched for a new supplier. At that time, the contract was won by the consortium of firms Stamont - Pozemní Stavitelství and Vítkovice Revmont Engineering, which offered a price of about 180 million crowns, while the project estimated costs around 240 million. However, two years ago, the reconstruction was halted again because the city leadership was dissatisfied with the quality of some of the work, delays in construction, and disputes regarding the valuation of additional work. The consortium thus decided to terminate the contract, and construction was halted once again. Last autumn, a third tender was announced. In addition to the bank guarantee, the city included further conditions and penalties in the tender documentation to reduce the risk of the reconstruction being unsuccessful again.

After the repairs, the cultural house will have a theater hall for 420 people, a social hall, a small theater hall for 100 people, a rehearsal room, three multifunctional classrooms, and two lounges. It will also include a restaurant with a terrace and club space or a mini-cinema for approximately 60 people.