In Přerov, the demolition of abandoned houses on Škodova Street will begin on Friday

photo: Palickap via Wikimedia Commons

Přerov - In Přerov, demolition of the four remaining abandoned apartment buildings on the devastated Škodova Street near the train station will begin on Friday. The demolition excavators will be on site from early morning; the company has 60 days to tear down the structures and prepare the area from the location of the former Roma ghetto. The costs amount to nearly 3.5 million crowns, with just under 2.5 million crowns obtained by the city from a state subsidy. This was stated today by Zdeněk Dostál, head of the investment department of the Přerov city hall. Last year, after an unsuccessful attempt by a private investor to revitalize this part of the city, the city hall repurchased Škodova Street back into its ownership.

The demolition of the houses, which were previously inhabited by numerous Roma families, will start on Friday at 08:00. On Friday, a demolition excavator is expected to arrive to begin the demolition of the abandoned apartment buildings. Clearance of the basement spaces has been ongoing at the site for a month. "The company is tasked with demolishing everything, filling in the basements, and preparing the area. They have 60 days to do this," said Dostál.

Přerov was able to begin the demolition on Škodova Street thanks to a subsidy from the Ministry of Regional Development intended to support area revitalization. Initially, city representatives estimated the costs at 12 million crowns, but the final price from the bidding process turned out to be 3.352 million crowns. "Further use of this area will be part of the project. A condition of the subsidy was that this space be prepared within three years. The city anticipates that a green area will be created throughout the entire site," added Dostál.

Work on Škodova Street began in early February when workers started clearing the devastated area of debris from previous building demolitions and waste. The area is about 700 square meters, and the city had previously estimated that up to 2,000 cubic meters of waste would be removed. The city hall paid 670,000 crowns for the clearing of Škodova Street.

Přerov city councilors approved the purchase of Škodova Street last September. The city paid 3.3 million crowns for the buildings and land, more than double the price for which the city sold this property to a private investor nine years ago. However, his plans to build new apartment buildings on the site did not materialize. The ruins remained near the train station, and the company ended up in bankruptcy.

In the part of Škodova Street that the city sold to the company Opera Bohemia, there were originally 81 apartments in the buildings, of which 55 were occupied. The last families moved out in 2013. A year earlier, it was estimated that 50 to 100 people lived there.