Dvur Králové has completed the project to convert the Mayer factory and will be looking for an investor

Dvůr Králové nad Labem – Dvůr Králové nad Labem in the Trutnov region has completed the project of transforming the former Mayer factory into a cultural and educational center. The town of fifteen thousand will now negotiate the sale and seek an investor who would find a real use for the extensive brownfield in the city center. This was stated in a press release issued by the town hall today. The estimated value of the renovation project was around 800 million crowns without VAT. The city was unable to secure a grant of nearly 400 million crowns from the National Recovery Plan.

The area of the former Mayer factory on Republic Square spans 5,500 square meters and consists of several buildings. The town hall purchased the factory in 2017 for 9.4 million crowns from the local cooperative Vánoční ozdoby. Originally, it was a textile factory, and later there was a market in the area, which also housed the company Strojtex. The factory buildings are located in the city’s heritage conservation zone.

The city wanted to remodel the factory according to a design by the studio Grimm Architekti, which won the architectural competition announced by the town hall in 2021. When the city did not obtain the grant in 2023, the town hall started considering the future of the factory. One of the considerations was to use the area for the Children and Youth House Jednička. The city has a demolition permit for part of the factory. There is old ecological contamination from former production in the area.

According to Deputy Mayor Vítězslav Šturma (Síla Dvora), the project to renovate the Mayer factory under the city’s management has come to an end. "At this point, it makes no sense to continue designing a variant for which we have no certainty that it is financially manageable for the city and that we will find a real use for it. Therefore, I consider it responsible to open the possibility of seeking an investor for the entire area,” he stated.

According to the original plan, the grant from the National Recovery Plan was to cover a significant portion of the costs for demolition and the construction of the new southern section of the area. The new building was to include a cultural center with a multipurpose hall and one smaller hall; there were also plans for the construction of underground garages for nearly 70 cars. The second part of the project was to build an educational center, a children’s entertainment center, and a museum repository in the reconstructed northern part of the area.

This year, Dvůr Králové plans investments exceeding 310 million crowns. The largest projects include the reconstruction of the bus station, the ongoing construction of sewage in the Verdek district, and the completion of the reconstruction of the historically protected house No. 2 on Masaryk Square.

In Dvůr Králové, the winning movement ANO with the group Síla Dvora, which consists of the Východočeši movement and STAN, holds power in the elections. The coalition has the narrowest majority with 11 out of 21 mandates in the council.