In Ostrava, a shopping center worth more than 3 billion CZK will open

The area of the former coke plant

Ostrava - A shopping and entertainment center, Forum Nová Karolina, will open to the public on Thursday on the site of the former Karolina coke plant in the center of Ostrava, costing more than three billion crowns. It is the first structure on the largest brownfield in the region, which evokes mixed emotions among the city's residents and has earned the nickname from its opponents after the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima. The center will offer more than 240 shops over an area exceeding 58,000 square meters and will employ around 2,000 people, the center's director Martin Kubík told reporters today.
The center is being developed by the company Multi Development, which won a competition announced by the city about six years ago. In the first phase of construction, administrative and residential buildings should be completed in the former industrial area in the coming months. "Multi Development has been active in the Czech Republic for ten years and this is truly the best result of our work so far. I believe that such a project would succeed in Paris, London, or Rome," said Ronald Dasbach, the Executive Director of Multi Development for Central and Eastern Europe, to reporters today.
However, not all Ostrava residents share his enthusiasm. "I think this shows the value we place on architecture and urbanism, and what interest there is in certain power or economic structures. (...) This entire new district carries the stigma of emphasizing this one dimension, namely the economic one," said Ostrava architectural historian Martin Strakoš to ČTK.
City officials moderate the criticism; for example, according to Mayor Petr Kajnar (ČSSD), the project has been realized despite the economic crisis, which had previously halted construction at Nová Karolina for a time. "After decades, a part of the city is coming back to life. This time it is different from industrial, and we will see what it means for Ostrava. This is something that doesn't happen every day, as this is the largest brownfield in the center of a city in the Czech Republic and one of the largest overall in Europe in a city center," Kajnar told ČTK. He added that he believes that a large portion of the buildings that will arise at Nová Karolina will survive for more than 150 years. "I believe it will revitalize Ostrava and help it," he stated.
The shopping and entertainment center is approximately 95 percent full, and most shops should be accessible during the public opening on Thursday. Some brands will appear in the region for the first time - such as the fashion brand Guess or Starbucks Coffee. The center includes, in addition to shops, a food court with restaurants and cafes. A second multiplex cinema in the city - Cinema City - is also opening in the complex. The eight-screen cinema will have a capacity of 1,195 seats and will be priced comparably to the already functioning multiplex. The cinema aims to achieve an annual attendance of around 350,000 people.
After complete completion, Nová Karolina is expected to cover an area of 32 hectares, making it more than seven times larger than Prague's Wenceslas Square.