The project plan for the new city hall building in Pardubice is to be completed by November

Pardubice – The Pardubice city council today took the first step toward building a new city hall at the corner near the post office close to the railway station. The council instructed the officials today to prepare a project plan. More details about the construction should be available by the end of November. The goal is to consolidate all officials into one building, as the city hall's departments are currently spread across several locations in the city.

It is not yet clear how much the new city hall in Pardubice will cost. "We are at the very beginning, then we can answer your questions; for now, we do not have relevant data," said Mayor Jan Nadrchal (ANO) to the council today.

According to some councilors, the location of the office at the corner of Palacký Boulevard and Hlaváčova Street is unsuitable. For example, Petr Klimpl (ODS) would prefer a park there. "The town hall does not fit there; the biggest problem is traffic and parking," said opposition councilor Filip Sedlák (Naše Pardubice).

According to Robert Hrdina (Zelení), the land for the office is, on the contrary, suitable because there are cycling paths, the railway station, and public transportation runs there. He believes a park would be unsuitable. Councilor Vojtěch Jirsa (Piráti) agreed with him. "We need to fill these useless areas in an intensive manner so that the city doesn't have to expand into the countryside," said Jirsa.

Some councilors criticized the high costs of building a new building. "Our city would cost at least one billion crowns. Other effective solutions are available, such as abolishing city districts," said Ondřej Müller (TOP 09). He found buying the ČSOB Insurance building, where officials could be consolidated, much more advantageous, but the city abandoned this idea in 2017.

Councilor František Brendl (Společně pro Pardubice) labeled the insurance company's headquarters as a monster that has already served its time. He advised against purchasing it and added that the city can optimize operational costs well with a new building. "We are managing properties that are operationally at the end of their lifecycle. Some properties are in such a state that they can operate efficiently," said Brendl.

The Pardubice city hall has about 350 officials and is located in various places throughout the city. The largest part of the office is located in the town hall at Pernštýnské Square, where the city's leadership, economic department, development and strategy department, education, culture, and other key departments operate. Another significant workplace is in Štrossova Street, where the building authority, environmental department, chief architect of the city, and IT support, including the server room, are located.

Some departments are in the building at Republic Square, which the city uses based on a loan from the region. There, for example, the registry office, driver's registration, part of transportation matters, crisis management, and other administrative activities are located. Other departments are spread across smaller buildings in the city.