The construction site in the center of Ústí will not be completed by the company, the city will announce an architectural competition

Ústí nad Labem - The company BBP Stavby Management will not build on the long-abandoned construction site near Mírové Square in the center of Ústí nad Labem. They did not meet the competition conditions, and the council therefore canceled the intention at an extraordinary meeting. The city spokesman Marek Lukinič informed journalists about this today. Instead, Ústí will announce an architectural competition, as demanded for a long time by the largest opposition movement PRO! Ústí.

On the so-called block 004, nicknamed 'hole' by locals, BBP Stavby Management was to build as part of a PPP project, a partnership of public and private funds. They were the only interested party selected by the acting administrator.

Before the February city council meeting that decided on the completion, the city council held an extraordinary meeting. The only item they discussed on February 13 was the investor's objections. At that time, the council rejected them as unfounded. CTK is trying to reach the company's managing director, who has not responded to calls or SMS since morning. The city did not provide the objections to CTK. The timeline indicates that there were already ambiguities between the city and the company before the council meeting.

The investor was to present a bank guarantee of two million crowns. "The guarantee was not presented to the city within the specified deadline, and from a procedural point of view, there is no other way than to exclude this contractor for non-fulfillment of conditions," explained the secretary of the city hall, Miloš Studenovský. The council decided that due to the unmet condition from the company, the city would retain a security of 500,000 crowns.

"Unfortunately, the opportunity to complete block 004 relatively quickly has been missed. I don't want to speculate, but it is possible that the negative presentation in the public space discouraged the contractor. We will not stop looking for a new partner for this construction, but we will use the resulting delay to organize an architectural competition," said Mayor Petr Nedvědický (ANO). The form of the architectural competition will be prepared by the city. "We would certainly welcome any expert from the opposition who offers to use their experience with similar competitions. They could take a position not only on the evaluation committee but also in the team that will organize the competition," the mayor added.

The process will include, for example, a presentation of competition proposals to the public. The city stated that transparency and open communication are key for it. However, at the February city council meeting, neither the public nor the councilors learned how much the construction would cost or how it would look. However, it was supposed to be a building with offices.

The opposition had pointed out the ambiguities in the entire process since the purchase of the 'hole' in 2023. The chairwoman of the movement PRO! Ústí, Jana Kočárková Maredová, told CTK today that the city has wasted three years. She noted that the reason for the long-suggested architectural study is to ensure quality construction and to beautify the place. The public wants a park instead of the construction site, which was there in the past.

The abandoned construction site, where the company UDES built only a two-story underground parking lot in 14 years, was purchased by the city in 2023. They paid 73 million crowns for it, even though the usual price in the area was, according to an expert opinion, 37 million crowns. The city leadership argued that the price also included a project for the completion of the building. However, it turned out that the investor would have to revise the project. Additionally, the existing parking lot is in poor condition. The mayor stated at the February meeting that according to the assessment, the parking lot was in order when purchased by the city. The project should meet the requirements for modern construction.

The councilors decided on the purchase in 2023 by secret ballot. The coalition of ANO and SPD and two independents voted in favor.