Jičín wants to transform the Jesuit college into a science and technology park

Jičín - The city hall in Jičín wants to convert the dilapidated building of the Jesuit college in the city center into a science and technology park for companies and universities. The costs of the reconstruction are estimated at 400 million crowns, of which three-quarters would be covered by grants from the European Prosperity program. The city has already submitted a grant application. It has also selected a company that will prepare project documentation for the zoning permit for about 900,000 crowns. Mayor Martin Puš (ODS) said this to journalists today.
     The Jesuit college was built at the beginning of the 17th century by Prince Albrecht of Wallenstein. The former school buildings later became barracks, which were occupied by Soviet troops after 1968. Since 1990, the area has been deteriorating, and the city is looking for a new use for it.
     The usable area of the college is about 3,400 square meters. According to Deputy Mayor Tomáš Frýba (TOP 09), about half of it would be available for lease to companies from the science and technology park. The rest would be occupied by universities. The universities that already have their facilities in Jičín, such as the Technical University of Liberec and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, would also move to the college. Out of the total costs, 320 million crowns would go to the reconstruction of the building, and the remaining 80 million crowns would go to technology.
     According to Puš, Jičín could succeed with its grant application. He stated that there are four billion crowns available for distribution in the program, and a total of 41 projects are competing for it.
     The city hall now wants to familiarize the councilors in detail with the project, who have thus far agreed to the preparation of the project. "It would be the biggest project in the four-year term of the current coalition. Councilors must be informed about all possible risks of the project and that the city would have to go into debt," said Frýba. In the previous electoral term, the largest investment of the city was the construction of an outdoor swimming pool for more than 200 million crowns.