The area of the demolished Clothing Factory in Prostějov gapes with emptiness

Prostějov - The area of the bankrupt Clothing Company in Prostějov, whose six production buildings were brought down a year ago by more than a ton of dynamite, is still empty. The machines have already removed huge piles of construction debris. The landowners claim that negotiations with investors are on a good track and soon the first companies could settle in the area.
    "The demolition of the former OP area is proceeding exactly according to the expected plan. We have managed to take some steps earlier due to favorable weather conditions, which has allowed us to start the second part of the entire project earlier, namely discussions with potential interested parties for the vacant areas in the complex," said Ondřej Batta, chairman of the board of Astria Group, to ČTK.
    According to him, negotiations with two interested parties for the land in the OP area have already been successfully completed, and talks with others are ongoing. "At this moment, however, due to the diversity of the interested parties for the vacant areas, we cannot specify the future use of the area in detail. However, we believe that the project will be successfully completed, the vacant areas will soon find their use, and investors will bring jobs for the residents of Prostějov," stated Batta without further details.
    On part of the land, a large exhibition hall may be built. Last year, Astria Group applied to the Prostějov city council for the issuance of a zoning decision. The hall is to be built on land with an area of nearly 31,000 square meters. The plot lies next to former production and administrative halls. "The exhibition hall will be used for organizing seasonal fairs," states the request from Astria Group for the zoning decision. There is currently not a large exhibition area in Prostějov. The nearest large exhibition center is in Olomouc.
    Astria Group has named the area the Prostějov Industrial Park and advertises land online with a total area of 160,000 square meters. Earlier, part of the land was offered to the city council, which showed no interest in this plot. "We received an offer to purchase about 12 out of a total of 18 hectares of this plot," said Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil (PéVéčko) to ČTK, who noted that unclear ownership relations to some roads and parts of the railway siding in the OP area complicated the situation.
    The city leadership ultimately did not negotiate the offer to sell part of the land in the OP area. "At this moment, we have strategic investments for the upcoming three years of our term and we certainly will not burden the budget by investing money in these plots," added Pospíšil, noting that the city will recommend the OP area plots to potential interested parties. "We are interested in having them used as an industrial zone," he added.
    Astria Group paid 58 million CZK for the Prostějov OP area, which it won in a tender last January. The plots are located in close proximity to the expressway R46, which leads from Olomouc to Brno, making them advantageous for investors. The area is extensive and had several production and administrative buildings, warehouses, a boiler room, and a railway siding. Most of the buildings have already been demolished. The last one to be demolished was the administrative building, which served as the entrance to the complex.