Reconstruction of the former VÚTS will cost the Liberec Region 93 million CZK

Liberec - The renovation of the former administrative building of VÚTS adjacent to the Regional Office in Liberec into the European House (building E) will cost nearly 93 million crowns, including VAT. The contractor is expected to be the construction company Syner, which will have only 52 weeks for the reconstruction, said the Deputy Governor Marek Pieter (Mayors for the Liberec Region) to reporters today. Offices will be created there, to which some regional organizations are expected to move, but primarily the providers of European grants. Euroregion Nisa and the branch of the Union of Towns and Municipalities also preliminarily plan to relocate there.
At the end of 2014, the Liberec Region paid nearly 125 million crowns for the VÚTS building, the adjacent workshop, and the surrounding land. The administrative part aims to revert to its original form. The functionalist building with elements of art deco and expressionism was built between 1928 and 1929. Architect Oskar Baudisch designed it for the Jewish merchant Otto Strasse, who operated garages there. In 1951 and between 1969 and 1975, the building underwent reconstructions and extensions that changed its appearance both inside and outside.
The regional government will finance the project from its own budget and is applying for grants from the Operational Program Environment for insulation. Although the start of the reconstruction is not expected before March, work around the office has already begun with the clearing of a small forest called Sherwood. "The region and the city are jointly looking for solutions to improve it. We are also preparing an architectural competition for the entire area, including the bridge over the Nisa and the construction of a parking house that would ensure parking spaces not only for visitors to the regional office but also for organizations in building E," stated Governor Martin Půta STAN.
Administrative building E offers 3480 square meters of office space. After the reconstruction is completed, the European House will emerge there, where applicants will find all providers of European grants in one place. According to Pieter, the branch of the Czech Republic's Regional Development Centre (CRR) is key, which is to serve as a contact point for the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP). It is currently located in rented space on Voroněžská Street behind the cadastral office.