Velké Meziříčí wants to carry out the postponed revitalization of the center in this electoral period.

Velké Meziříčí - The town hall in Velké Meziříčí aims to carry out the long-delayed renovation of the square and surrounding streets during this electoral term. By November, the city leadership is expected to receive the final architectural study, after which they will begin selecting a contractor for the subsequent documentation. Mayor Alexandros Kaminaras (independent for Together VM) told reporters today that construction could begin by the end of 2024. Preparations for the reconstruction of the center have been stalled for about six years due to disputes in the city council, which even led to a local referendum.

"We finally managed to break the deadlock that existed on this topic within the representative body in September 2021," said Kaminaras. He is elected for the second time, leading Velké Meziříčí with 11,300 residents since February 2020.

The costs for restoring networks and public spaces in the center could range from 150 to 200 million crowns, although the mayor stated that this is a very rough estimate. "It's hard to predict what prices will be in construction in 2024," he said. According to him, it will also depend on what is uncovered when the surface of the square is revealed and what archaeologists find there. "It's a heritage zone; there used to be a cemetery around the church," he pointed out. Construction work is expected to be divided over two years.

In the coming months, the city aims to upgrade and brighten the small park by the city walls at the exit from the square, which is not part of the larger project to renovate the center. "This important public space in the center of the city is currently neglected; the city walls are hidden behind tall conifers that are no longer in good condition," said Kaminaras.

For the planned renovation of the center, the town hall is building on a proposal from an architectural competition held in 2016, which, according to a later statement from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), was never legally initiated due to a legal error.

A total of 16 proposals were submitted to the competition. However, according to the winning proposal by David Mikulášek, a larger portion of the councilors refused to proceed. The then-mayor Radovan Necid (True Meziříčí) resigned due to disputes. He was succeeded by Josef Komínek from the ČSSD. In a local referendum in 2017, a larger proportion of voters requested negotiations with the winner of the competition, but the results were not binding on the councilors. They chose the proposal from MCA atelier, which finished second in the competition. However, the city did not sign a contract with them either.

Last September, the councilors agreed that the city would collaborate with architect Mikulášek and sign a contract with him for the completion of the architectural study.