A new district will be created in Olomouc for ten billion crowns

Buildings of the former Milo factory

Olomouc - The construction of a new urban district worth ten billion crowns near the historic center of Olomouc is expected to begin next winter or spring of 2011. It could be completed by 2015, said Luděk Schmidt, a board member of SMC Development, to reporters today. SMC Development plans to build a multifunctional center with apartments, shops, and offices on an area of 11 hectares. The district will be named Šantovka.
    According to Schmidt, the company will build a multifunctional center on the site of the former plant of the bankrupt company Milo, which is currently undergoing extensive demolition. The first phase will start with the construction of a building with underground parking for about 800 spaces, shopping galleries, restaurants, and a multiplex cinema.
    The first phase is expected to be completed in October 2012. Even before its completion, investors would like to launch additional phases of the project, including the construction of residential buildings and an administrative building with offices. "We do not yet know the exact number of apartments, as it will depend on the decisions about their dimensions. However, it can be said that there should be around 500 to 600," said Schmidt.
    He added that about 1000 people should work in the shopping gallery, and another 4000 to 5000 in the administrative part. Investors expect that the offices will be occupied not only by local, but also foreign companies and call centers. "Several thousand more people will be involved in the preparation and construction of the building," said Schmidt.
    Investors began planning the construction of the new district, which will be intersected by a new tram line, even before the global crisis. "The project continues as planned, and neither the current economic situation in the world nor in our country will jeopardize its realization," noted a board member of SMC Development. He added that the company will finance the investment from its own resources and loans.
    The operation in the former factory of the bankrupt company Milo definitively ceased in April 2004, when the company Setuza launched a new line for filling vegetable edible oils at its refinery on the outskirts of the city.

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The authors of the commercial and social center, which will be the first phase of the Šantovka project, are the London studio Benoy and the České Budějovice Atelier 8000.