The owner of the Automatic Mills denies that he bought them for speculation

Pardubice - Architect Lukáš Smetana, who bought the site known as the Automatic Mills in Pardubice with his wife last year, denies that he acquired the site with speculative intent. According to data from the land registry available to ČTK, he paid a total of 22,284,396 Czech crowns based on three contracts for the land and buildings. He is now offering the main building of the mills to the Pardubice Region for the needs of the East Bohemian Gallery for 35 million crowns; the price includes project documentation for the reconstruction of the building worth around two million crowns.

He wants to sell the right to build for the establishment of Central Polytechnical Workshops to Pardubice for seven million, again including the future project. He will keep two-thirds of the area of the site, he told ČTK.

"If the region buys it from us, with the money we gain, we will build two new squares on the site, one in front of the site and another inside. We will demolish all administrative buildings, warehouses, garages, and former accommodations," Smetana stated. According to him, the price for the Pardubice Region is based on previously prepared assessments that indicated a higher price than the purchase price. He also points out the 15 percent tax that will need to be paid on the purchase price.

"We offer the city to build polytechnical workshops completely for free; they will only pay us for the design work we commissioned from architect Jan Šépka," Smetana stated. He wants to have complete control over the future appearance of the site, which is why he commissions the projects himself.

Smetana claims he wants to revitalize the site. "In the remaining mills, we want both housing, including housing for our family, and also services, shops, cafes, and a microbrewery," Smetana describes. Cultural events should also be held on the site. Offices, studios, craft workshops, and a houseboat manufacturer already operate there.

According to Deputy Governor Roman Línek, who advocates for the acquisition of part of the mills for the gallery, real estate prices are rising, and the building currently has a value of 40 million crowns. The regional office will have another assessment done. Thus the region can acquire it even below the price. "We went to him; he didn’t offer it to us," Línek said.

The purchase is also justified by the fact that the regional office will get a project worth two million crowns for free, which Smetana had prepared by other architects. As the owner, he also announced that he wants to invest in the surrounding buildings. "The region will also gain a parking space for 25 years and the possibility to transport works and more across its land," Línek said.

Production at the site ended in 2013. The Austrian company GoodMills initially offered the mills to the city, but councilors repeatedly rejected the purchase.

The mills were designed by architect Josef Gočár for brothers Egon and Karel Winternitz. They were built between 1909 and 1911, and a new silo was added in the 1920s, connected to the older part by a bridge. Their architecture is reminiscent of the Babylonian Ishtar Gate. In the second half of the last century, a four-story extension elongated the left bank wing, and other buildings were also created on the site. Since 2014, the mills have been a national cultural monument.