In Opava, no more shopping centers will be built

Opava - No further shopping center will be built in Opava, as the councilors today approved the withdrawal from the contract with the developer. The company Crestyl wanted to build a commercial complex directly in the historical center near the Upper Square. The city's withdrawal from the contract will cost them 28.5 million crowns. This is how the developer calculated its costs incurred so far with the project. City officials will now seek new uses for the site. They want to involve the public. The statement from the developer is being sought by ČTK.

"I feel that we have a general consensus on which direction to move forward. What should be there in the future. We want to involve the public in the decision-making process," said Mayor Radim Křupala (ČSSD). Earlier, Opava's councilors spoke about the possibility of building residential units, offices, a building with a restaurant, and a park.

According to the mayor, the developer did not request payment for any potential lost profits. The amount of 28.5 million crowns includes sums that the company paid to the city, for example, for renting properties, demolishing the high-rise building, or for archaeological surveys. The developer itself has calculated the costs for the projects and construction preparation at more than 22 million crowns.

The contract for the construction of the shopping center was signed by the previous city administration with the developer in 2005. According to it, they could develop the area created after the demolition of houses destroyed in the war in the historic center of Opava. However, preparations dragged on, and recently, opinions among residents increasingly emerged that the shopping center should not be built. Some time ago, Crestyl also expressed a willingness to terminate the project. Today, the majority of councilors also leaned towards this decision.

The change in opinions was also influenced by the construction of another shopping center, Breda & Weinstein, which was built nearby. On an area of over 25,000 square meters, it offers space for more than 100 shops, a multiplex cinema with six screens, restaurants, and a café.

According to the signed agreement, Crestyl was to develop the land under the now-demolished high-rise building from the 1970s and neighboring parks that were created in 1945 after the demolition of buildings destroyed in the war. Some of the city's residents oppose the development of the area. They wish for it to remain a quiet zone. A petition to stop the project was signed by 1,300 people in 2011. This year, 3,200 opponents of the construction signed the request for a referendum. The referendum ultimately did not take place. "It's better to pay a fine than to suffer some architecture there for 200 years, which just drains life from the city," said Martin Klimeš, the initiator of the referendum, to ČTK.