ZČU will buy the area of the Plzeň Škodovka headquarters

Plzeň - The management of the University of West Bohemia (ZČU) definitively decided on Wednesday to purchase the building of the Škoda Holding headquarters in Plzeň. The amount of around 180 million crowns will be paid by the school either from European funds or in installments that have already been negotiated with the company. The necessary modifications to the preserved building for up to 4000 students will require about 30 million crowns. The purchase agreement should be ready for signing by mid-February, university rector Josef Průša said today.
    "Classes will start there from the new academic year, part of the departments of the Faculty of Health Studies is already rented there," he added. The faculty currently has 700 students and will have 1000 from the new year. Another faculty that was supposed to move there was the Faculty of Philosophy, with more than 3000 students. Its dean, Pavel Vařeka, confirmed to ČTK today that both the faculty management and its senate oppose the move to the Škoda headquarters. However, since the university's board of trustees, the academic senate, and the new management have already approved the purchase of the building, the rector may order the philosophers to relocate to the new building.
    "We will continue to negotiate with them. One option would be to move the departments currently renting space in the Avalon office center (the departments of political science and sociology)," Průša said. He has other ZČU departments in reserve for the new spaces, but did not specify which ones, as he had not yet negotiated with them. The last resort for use is commercial rentals. It is also not excluded that ZČU will only take over part of the building towards the main Škoda gate, where classrooms will be created. "Škodovka is willing to sell the building in portions," he added.
    The university has certain funds from European sources, which are strictly designated for the development of doctoral studies. Therefore, it would need a faculty that is accredited, such as the philosophers. If EU funds cannot be used, the school will likely utilize its own free internal resources along with a bridging loan and the Škoda company's offer for a repayment schedule.
    Not long ago, the city of Plzeň was also interested in the headquarters, but it needed to add two floors, which, according to Průša, the structural engineers evaluated as impossible. However, the modifications of offices and meeting rooms into smaller classrooms for ZČU are realistic, as the ceilings can support hundreds of students.
    ZČU also considered moving faculties to the building of the former regional committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on Americká Street, which the city offers for 60 to 70 million crowns. "Yesterday we agreed that it is not a viable option. There are small rooms, cracked pipes, and parking is problematic," Průša stated.
    The four-story Škoda building on Tylova Street near the center, renovated 13 years ago, has excellent transport accessibility, a large parking lot, and is next to the bus station, according to Průša.