The reconstruction of the cultural center in Lidové sady in Liberec will become more expensive for the region

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Liberec - The reconstruction of the historical building of the cultural center in Lidové sady in Liberec will significantly increase the costs for the Liberec Region, as builders found many problems. Already, the price has risen by a tenth with four addendums from the original 174.9 million crowns to nearly 192.6 million, but this will not be the final amount. The price is expected to exceed 200 million crowns, with over 12 million needed for a new extension on the third floor and 31 million estimated for a new roof. This was stated to the journalists today by the deputy governor Květa Vinklátová (Mayors for the Liberec Region).

"Of course we knew in advance that we were embarking on a monument, on a complicated building and that we were under time constraints. However, in the meantime, we discovered greater problems than we initially anticipated," added Vinklátová. According to her, the biggest problem is the roof, which was initially supposed to undergo only partial repairs; now it will need to be completely reconstructed. Additionally, a new extension with an Experimental Studio must be built where it turned out that the original wooden structure is completely rotten and needs to be replaced with a replica.

According to Vinklátová, it is also necessary to demolish and rebuild the extension on the third floor that was constructed in 2012 when both the building and the zoo belonged to the city of Liberec. The extension does not comply with the documentation and does not meet regulations. "If we did not address this, it would not be possible to obtain a valid positive statement from the Fire Rescue Service of the Liberec Region for the occupancy permit. For this reason, it was decided to demolish and subsequently create a new extension that will comply with standards and legal regulations," said the deputy governor.

According to Liberec’s mayor Jaroslav Zámečník (Mayors for the Liberec Region), standard drywall instead of fire-resistant drywall was likely used during the adaptation of the space for the zoo's management years ago. "Back then, it was a small contract worth about six million crowns; I have no more specific detailed information about it. We certainly handed it over to the region in good faith just as we received and had it," said the Liberec mayor in response to a query from ČTK. The region will have to deal with this issue. At the time the work was done, the city was led by a minority coalition headed by Martina Rosenbergová (ČSSD).

Work on the 120-year-old protected historical building located next to the Liberec Zoo has been ongoing since last June. The reconstruction will affect the halls and the facilities, an elevator will be added, and rehearsal rooms for emerging musicians and bands, as well as a recording studio, should be created. The region secured 121 million for the reconstruction from the national recovery plan, but the condition is the occupancy permit and the operation of the building by the end of this year. However, due to the ongoing work, it will not be possible to meet this deadline. "Therefore, we are intensively negotiating with the Ministry of Culture about the possibility of extending the timeline by three to five months," added Vinklátová.

The project for the reconstruction of the center in Lidové sady has faced problems from the beginning. Initially, the preparation of the contract was prolonged and increased in cost due to the requirements of heritage conservationists and firefighters; then the competition for selecting the contractor also became complicated. Seven companies competed for the contract, and the Liberec construction company BREX won with a bid of 174.58 million crowns. However, it withdrew before signing the contract and is currently in bankruptcy. The contract was then awarded to CL-Evans, which finished second with a price about 320,000 crowns higher.