Liberec County accounts for the purchase of Ještěd in the budget forecast, but the price is currently unknown

Liberec - The Liberec region is counting on the purchase of the mountain hotel and the Ještěd transmitter in its budget outlook, even though it does not yet know the price. The review report should be completed in October. The financial outlook approved today by the regional assembly already includes annual payments of 25 million crowns over the next four years. Czech Radiocommunications (ČRa), which owns the building, has been proposing from the outset that the region can spread the purchase price over ten annual payments, the governor Martin Půta (Mayors for the Liberec Region) informed the assembly today.

The mountain hotel and the Ještěd transmitter have been serving since 1973 and are considered one of the most original architectural works in the Czech Republic. Architect Karel Hubáček, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year, received the prestigious international Perret Award for the project. Since 2006, the building has been a national cultural monument and was voted the Czech building of the century by the public. The governor signed a memorandum of understanding in June with ČRa director Miloš Mastník, in which the radiocommunications confirmed that they do not intend to negotiate the sale of the property with any other interested parties by the end of this year.

The building is a dominant feature of Liberec and the entire region. ČRa has owned the hotel and the transmitter since 2000. They acquired it for 85 million crowns and have invested tens of millions in repairs since then. For several years now, with the help of the public, efforts have been underway to restore original elements in the interiors. The hotel lounge and the Avion bar have returned to their 1970s appearance. Some rooms in the hotel have also been returned to their original design from the time of its inception, albeit with minor changes.

The intention to purchase Ještěd was approved by regional representatives back in August 2008 when the region was led by a coalition headed by the ODS. At that time, there were speculations about a price of around 70 million crowns, with a budget of one hundred million prepared for it. However, after the elections, the regional government was formed by the ČSSD and did not continue negotiations. "They dissolved the funds into health care fees," said Půta. Currently, work is being done on the valuation of the properties and also on the substantive burden that will allow ČRa to use the transmitter in the long term.

The hotel and restaurant spaces are leased by the company JEŠTĚD based on a lease agreement, which will expire at the end of 2029. According to Půta, the lease agreement does not complicate a potential purchase. The region plans to prepare a reconstruction of the building, which will take some time. The representatives approved five million crowns today for the preparation of project documentation, with two million allocated to ČRa according to Půta. The monument requires a complete reconstruction, including infrastructure, with costs estimated by designers exceeding half a billion crowns. After the reconstruction is completed, the region will select a new tenant in a public competition.