Ostrava will renovate the town hall restaurant, the opposition is concerned about the costs

OSTRAVA - The city of Ostrava plans a general renovation of the municipal restaurant, which is located in the town hall building and has been out of operation since mid-2004. The costs for the reconstruction will be approximately 50 million crowns. The opposition ODS considers such an amount to be excessive. The city intends to build new mayoral lounges above the restaurant during the renovation, said Marie Václavková from the information and public relations department to ČTK today.
The renovation is expected to start this May and should be completed within six months. In addition to the construction of new mayoral lounges, the renovation will include adjustments to the restaurant itself, including the kitchen, as well as repairs to the terrace, atrium, and garden restaurant. The hall under the tower, where the well-known entertainment show "Divadélko pod věží," hosted by Marie Rottrová featuring prominent personalities, used to take place, will also be renovated. "It can even be expected that similar events could take place there again," said Václavková.
Although the restaurant was renovated in the early 1990s, the building lacks air conditioning, which will also need to be installed, along with new internal sewage systems, heating distribution, and electrical installations. The municipal restaurant will not be operated by the city but will be offered to an operator selected through a tender.
"I certainly believe that the price (for the renovation) is high again," said opposition councilor Miroslav Svozil (ODS) to ČTK today, who views the planned construction of the mayoral lounges as wasting money. Svozil added, however, that it is unfortunate the municipal restaurant has been out of operation for so long. "The city leadership could have connected with some private entity that could operate it and potentially contribute to the renovation," he thinks.
According to the chief architect of the city of Ostrava, Jaroslav Sedlecký, restaurants in municipal buildings are a tradition, and town halls have mostly been built this way since the 19th century. "Everywhere in Central Europe, town halls, besides fulfilling administrative functions, have also been one of the most valued and sought-after commercial places," noted Sedlecký. Throughout history, various shops have also been part of Ostrava's New Town Hall. Sedlecký added that municipal restaurants were created as part of the building. "Interiors were not designed in the scenographic way as they are today, where you might walk into a modernist building and find a rocky cave or some inserted scene," pointed out Sedlecký. The renovation of the Ostrava municipal restaurant will also ensure that its historical appearance is preserved. "The town hall is today a cultural monument, and it inherently follows that it must be treated with a certain reverence, which of course also applies to publicly accessible interiors, among which the restaurant certainly belongs," he added.