The relaxation center in Rokytnice will be built by a foreign investor

Rokytnice nad Jizerou (Semilsko) - The reconstruction of the Rotextile textile factory in Rokytnice nad Jizerou into a relaxation and shopping center is estimated to cost more than half a billion crowns. The reconstruction is being financed by a foreign investor without European or state subsidies. Project manager Hana Horáková from PR.NO-Za property management, which is preparing it, informed the municipal council about this today. The project is expected to be implemented gradually, with completion scheduled for December 2015.
     The reconstruction of the Rotextile factory, which has been idle for six years, is not the first similar project in the town. In 2005, the company Bau Invest came up with a similar plan. They aimed to convert the dilapidated factory on the outskirts of the town, originally used for agricultural supply and purchases, into a relaxation center with about 80 apartments. The investor promised to build accommodation in the 4500-square-meter area, with a swimming pool, saunas, playgrounds, and a parking garage also planned. However, the company is in liquidation, and the plan fell through.
     This is one of the reasons why locals view the project with skepticism and do not have much faith in its realization. "We conducted a survey around Rokytnice and asked people what they would like here," Horáková said. Therefore, the project includes a second shopping center covering 3000 square meters, which will compete with the only local supermarket. There will also be a water park with a 25-meter swimming pool, which is lacking in the popular Krkonoš resort. Local children have to travel to Jilemnice for swimming lessons, but visitors will also appreciate the pool in winter.
     The plan includes the reconstruction of a former hostel into a guesthouse with 32 studios and apartments, as well as the construction of a residential building with underground parking and nearly 40 apartments on the site of the oldest part of the textile factory, which will need to be demolished as it is in a state of emergency. However, the main part of the factory from the late 19th century will remain preserved. "We want to demolish the later extensions, only the reinforced concrete hall on the southern side will be left; it will serve the water park," said project author architect Pavel Tauš from the Jablonec Atelier 4. The building will feature parking, shops, and a supermarket, as well as other sports facilities and 25 studio apartments on the upper floors.
     In the former factory canteen, the investor wants to build a conference hall for 200 people and a restaurant with a microbrewery. This will be the fifth in the Krkonoš. Beer spas will also be built nearby. This will create competition for the glassworks located 13 kilometers away in Harrachov, which has had a microbrewery for ten years and also operates beer spas. The investor in Rokytnice aims to take advantage of the growing interest in small breweries. This year alone, two new microbreweries opened in the Krkonoš region—one in Vrchlabí and another at Luční Bouda. "When we opened the brewery ten years ago, I was the eighth in the Czech Republic; today, if I’m not mistaken, there are already 168," said the owner of the Harrachov brewery, František Novosad.