The construction of the new kindergarten by the dam will cost Jablonec nad Nisou 144 million CZK

Jablonec nad Nisou - A new kindergarten near the Mšeno dam in Jablonec nad Nisou will be built for 144 million crowns by the company Strabag. The firm won the public tender with the lowest bid price, which was 15 percent below the original estimate of the designers. The city received an EU grant for the facility for 156 children, and the kindergarten is expected to welcome its first children on September 1, 2027. This was stated today by the spokesperson of the city hall, Jana Fričová.

The new kindergarten will be located at the site of the original Svobodná škola, which has relocated, as well as a special kindergarten. "The original pavilion kindergarten built during the 'Z' action had numerous problems, hence the decision was made to demolish it. However, one of the pavilions housed the transformer station for the entire area, so it was necessary to first demolish part of the buildings, create space for a new transformer station in their place, coordinate the relocation of the transformer station, and then demolish the remaining building," described the progress of the ongoing work by Deputy Mayor Jakub Chuchlík (Pirates).

The design of the new kindergarten emerged from an architectural competition in the summer of 2023. From 28 proposals, the jury selected the one by the association of architects Martin Vančura, Anna Koukolová, and the Atelier Za Mák as the best. "Although the kindergarten will have a total capacity of 156 children, we expect to fill 142 places. We want to keep one of the classes special with a maximum of 12 children," added Deputy Mayor Jana Hamplová (Mayors for the Liberec Region).

Strabag will build the kindergarten; the city will separately choose suppliers for the garden, furniture, and kitchen equipment in separate competitions. "The goal of the project is to increase the number of available places in the Palackého Kindergarten. The current capacity of the facility will be increased by 85 places thanks to the supported project," said the head of the grant department at the city hall, Iveta Habadová. The city managed to secure over 142 million from European funds for the project, which will cost a total of 213 million crowns. This is the highest grant Jablonec has received for any project to date.

In the second largest city of the Liberec Region, this is not the only such project; in September, a new forest kindergarten called "Venku" was opened in Jablonec. The simple wooden construction for 18 children cost the city just under six million crowns and was built by the company Domesi in six months. The city hall is investing not only in the construction of new buildings but also in the repair and reconstruction of schools, allocating 157 million crowns in the budget this year for these purposes. Jablonec administers 19 kindergartens, currently attended by 1,459 children.