Vítkovice a. s. has withdrawn from the association Trojhalí Karolina

Ostrava - The company Vítkovice a. s. has withdrawn from the association of legal entities Trojhalí Karolina, which revitalizes the historic buildings of the former Karolina coking plant near the center of Ostrava. For example, a new city gallery should operate in these buildings. Speculation that Vítkovice or their CEO Jan Světlík wanted to take over the planned institution was one of the reasons why the engineering company left the association. Světlík told reporters today.
    "We have become the target of attacks and criticism that we want to take over and run the city gallery. We will not allow our brand to be tarnished. That is why we made room for other interested parties among local entrepreneurs," said Světlík. The city of Ostrava, the Moravian-Silesian Region, and the Lower Vítkovice area remain in the association.
    Ostrava's mayor Petr Kajnar (ČSSD) respects his decision. "I'm sorry about it, but I don't blame the company's director Jan Světlík. At the moment he became the target of criticism from the opposition in the city council, I understand his decision. The problem is that some of the opposition councilors from the Ostravak movement are not seeing clearly," the mayor said.
    Opposition councilors reacted to a discussion initiated by a group of Ostrava experts. Among them is the operator of the Fiducia gallery, Ilona Rozehnalová. "As far as I know, the Lower Vítkovice area, which is closely associated with Mr. Světlík, still remains in the association. Therefore, I take his decision today as an empty gesture," she said.
    However, she added that the criticism from people who joined the civil association Kunsthalle Ostrava was directed not against Vítkovice a. s., but against the project. "I consider that to be poor and we do not agree with it. It is of low quality," she said. She particularly dislikes that no tender was announced for the director of the emerging gallery. "That is a fundamental mistake. More projects should have competed in the tender, and the best should have been chosen. This step was skipped. A private association, in which the city has a minority, came up with a vision," she said.
    However, this is disputed by the director of the Lower Vítkovice area, Petr Koudela. According to him, the city has a majority of its representatives in all executive bodies.
    The exit of Vítkovice, which has so far invested 25 million CZK into the project, should not affect the reconstruction and restoration of the historic monument. Construction work continues. "It should be completed by the end of October. We expect that during November or at the latest in December, we will make the repaired historical buildings accessible to the public," said the director of the Trojhalí Karolina association, Petr Šnejdar.
    The listed buildings of the former power plant and central station, collectively called Trojhalí, are the only structures remaining in the area of the former industrial complex. In their immediate vicinity, a new shopping and entertainment center, Forum Nová Karolina, opened in March, and new apartments and office spaces are also being created nearby. The cost of the reconstruction, according to the proposal by architect Josef Pleskot, is around 300 million CZK. The majority of the costs will be financed from EU funds, and the renovation should be completed next summer.
    The project anticipates that from the former central station, which has an area roughly the same as the central Masaryk Square, not only a city gallery will emerge. It will be able to host not only exhibitions but also sports events, concerts, and markets.