In the former textile factory Perla in Ústí nad Orlicí, the town hall will build a house for children and youth

Ústí nad Orlicí - The Orlickoústecká city council plans to build a children and youth center in the former premises of the Perla textile factory. The intention, costing 54 million koruna, will be approved by the city council next week. If the project is supported, the facility could start serving the public at the turn of 2018 and 2019. Mayor Petr Hájek (Oušťáci Association) said this to ČTK today.

"We would take out a long-term loan of approximately 30 million koruna for the construction, and the rest would be financed from the city's budget," Hájek said.

The city bought the premises of the bankrupt company six years ago. The construction of the children and youth center will begin the first investment phase of utilizing the location, which is situated near the center.

Next winter, the city wants to demolish the unnecessary halls and then build a building on the cleared area, the center of which will be a gymnasium surrounded by workshops. The gymnasium is also intended to serve the students of the local primary school.

Initially, the city wanted to build a development center for the education of students and pupils as well. However, it would only have the chance to obtain 18 million koruna in subsidies instead of the originally expected 40 million koruna.

"We have re-evaluated the original plan and will only build a children and youth center, which is a new construction and therefore does not qualify for subsidies. We are not completely giving up on the development center; we might apply for the second round of the grant call," Hájek said.

The local secondary school of applied arts, which is established by the region, is also supposed to have studios in the area. The county should also fund the investment. The city is also considering building a cultural house there.

The factory, which employed 400 people, went bankrupt in 2009. The city wants to retain about a third of the area from the 32,000 square meters. The premises currently include a parking lot, warehouses, a canteen, small production, and two retail stores. The city has already completed a regulatory plan that defines the possibilities for land use. The city can offer this land to private investors who are interested in building apartments and shops.