Praha 6 approved the renovation and reconstruction of the Břevnov polyclinic

Prague – The Prague 6 municipality will demolish the lower part of the Břevnov polyclinic Pod Marjánkou, where a new facility will be built to which the current practices will be moved. Subsequently, the taller building will be renovated, where new services for residents are expected to be created. The plan was approved today by the local councilors. The municipality originally planned to add a long-term care facility to the polyclinic, but it stepped back from that and will build it in Ruzyně.

The municipality acquired the Pod Marjánkou polyclinic from the state in 2008, and it was managed by a private company until 2016. After taking over the facility again, Prague 6 began preparing the reconstruction, but its proposal and plan to build a long-term care facility faced criticism from doctors at the polyclinic and local residents. During this electoral term, the municipality established a working group for further steps and had experts from the Czech Technical University prepare a proposal for variants.

"All assessments agreed that the polyclinic is in very poor technical condition, and it won't be long before we will have to close the building or at most limit its operation," said Mayor Ondřej Kolář (TOP 09). He added that the goal of the municipality is to maintain a healthcare function in the area and it does not plan to sell the polyclinic.

At the same time, the city leadership concluded that it would not be possible to renovate the polyclinic while it was in operation. The chosen course of action thus assumes that the current practices will operate in the taller building until the space for their relocation is created where the smaller building currently stands. In the newly constructed building, they will remain to avoid moving twice.

After the relocation, the renovation of the higher building will follow, where additional services such as rehabilitation, pharmacy, or laboratories should be added. "This should be part of a participatory process, where we will ask people which of these services are lacking in Břevnov," said the mayor. Councilor Eva Smutná (independent for TOP 09) added that an architectural competition for the form of the reconstruction should be announced in the first half of next year. According to a study from the Czech Technical University, the estimated costs for the chosen variant are 433.7 million crowns.

Anna Hradílková from the Pro Břevnov Association said at the meeting that both buildings should house the polyclinic and that the municipality should not seek alternative uses for the reconstructed taller building. She also criticized the plan to build garages for about 150 cars next to the polyclinic, saying that increased traffic would worsen living conditions for people in the surrounding houses.

Recently, in response to the working group's discussions, the municipal leadership decided that the long-term care facility, to which the existing facility in the former Chittussi Hospital in Bubenč is to be moved, will be built instead on land in Drnovská Street in Ruzyně. The original decision to incorporate the long-term care facility into the polyclinic complex was approved by the Prague 6 council in 2016.

In Prague 6, TOP 09, ODS, STAN, and KDU-ČSL are in power. The opposition consists of the Pirates, Greens, and ANO.