The project for the demolition of the former department store Slezanka in Opava will be prepared by VŠB

Opava - The project for the demolition of part of the former unattractive panel shopping center Slezanka in the historic core of Opava will be developed by experts from the VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava. The actual demolition is expected to begin at the end of summer. Mayor Tomáš Navrátil informed ČTK about this. The shopping center is to be replaced in the future by several apartment buildings and a hall with an outdoor amphitheater.

"We commissioned the project to the university. The cost of its preparation will be 750,000 crowns. The university has four months to complete it. Then we will start looking for a company to carry out the actual demolition. The demolition should take place between August and September," Navrátil stated.

The future of Slezanka, part of which the city purchased from a private owner in 2008 for 270 million crowns, has been a topic of discussion in several recent electoral periods in Opava. It has long been unsuccessful to rent or sell the spaces. Attempts to renovate the building have also failed.

The demolition was approved by the city council last September. They considered several options, including reconstruction, but they deemed the renovation economically unfeasible. The city wants to construct several apartment buildings on the site of the shopping center, inspired by the pre-war residential buildings on Horní náměstí. A small square with an entrance to a new multifunctional hall will be located in the space of the current theater club. Private developers will build the apartment buildings, while the city will construct the hall. There are also plans for a two-story underground parking garage beneath the new development.

According to the owners, Slezanka consists of three parts. One part belongs to the city and this is the section that should be demolished. The second part is co-owned by the city, which is currently negotiating its sale with other owners. If successful, this part would also be demolished. The third part belongs to private owners, and the city is in negotiations with them as well.

The Slezanka shopping center is a panel building located on a site where ancient brewing houses stood in the 17th century. The block, which resembles a housing estate, adjoins the historical core of the city and neighbors a Gothic cathedral. The building has long been problematic for the city hall. The previous city leadership purchased the property on the central Horní náměstí in 2008 from a private owner. At that time, city representatives expressed their willingness to invest in repairing the building or demolishing it for the construction of a new shopping center. The city took out a loan of 270 million crowns to pay the purchase price.

The shopping center remained almost empty for a long time, and it was not until 2012 that it was possible to find a tenant to operate it. However, there were long-term difficulties in renting out the spaces. Eventually, the city opted to sell it to a development company. A new shopping center was supposed to be established there. The previous city leadership signed a contract with the developer for its construction in 2015.

However, preparations dragged on, and ultimately the opinion emerged that the shopping center should not be built. The construction of the nearby shopping center Breda & Weinstein also influenced this change. On an area of over 25,000 square meters, it offers space for more than 100 stores, a multiplex cinema with six screens, restaurants, and a café. Following an agreement, the developer abandoned the project. Since then, the city hall has been dealing with what to do next with Slezanka.