The Skloexport building in Liberec may be acquired by firefighters, who want to use it for a shift

Liberec – A building of Skloexport in Liberec, which has been unused for years and belongs to the state, may be acquired by firefighters. Their interest in this facility was confirmed today by Jan Hadrbolec, the regional director of the Fire Rescue Service (HZS) of the Liberec Region. According to him, they want to use it in the future for an exchange with the Liberec Region. The region has a significant interest in the building located in a lucrative area near the future transport hub, even though it currently has no specific plan for it, said regional governor Martin Půta.

The firefighters will have the property, which they will subsequently exchange with the Liberec Region for an integrated emergency response center that the county intends to build in Turnov, as Hadrbolec's words reveal. The project of building the response center has been in preparation for five years. It is particularly crucial for firefighters, who have their base in the flood-prone area of the Jizera River, as even a large five-year flood can cut the station off from communications.

The cost of constructing the response center, which aims to unite firefighters, the highway police, and the emergency medical service on a single site, is estimated to be nearly 300 million crowns. Of that, approximately 167 million will go towards the new firefighters' base, over 84 million will be spent on the regional emergency medical service base, and nearly 42 million for the traffic police facilities. "The project already has building permits, and we are counting on it in the budget outlook," said the governor. Thus, construction should begin next year, according to him.

The regional director of firefighters told ČTK today that he has approached the Office for State Representation in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM) with an offer to acquire the Skloexport building in Liberec. "We are preparing a response to the office, in which we will inform them that we are interested in the transfer of this building, and then the entire process will be addressed," said Hadrbolec.

ÚZSVM spokesperson Michaela Tesařová confirmed that they are in talks with the firefighters. "The negotiations have not yet concluded, and therefore it is not possible to provide detailed information," she stated.

Hadrbolec does not expect firefighters to acquire the Skloexport building in this year. "We need to properly familiarize ourselves with its actual condition," stated the fire director. He expects the transfer to occur no earlier than after the New Year.

The pre-war seven-story building of Skloexport at the corner of Žitavská and 1. máje streets was originally built for the tax and customs administration. The famous exporter of Czech glass acquired it during the communist regime, and the company went bankrupt in the second half of the 90s. The state has owned the building since 2001, and the last tenants vacated it eight years later. Since then, the property has been empty and deteriorating, and the state has been trying to sell the area with a floor area of 9357 square meters since 2008. In the last auction early this year, ÚZSVM unsuccessfully offered it for 57.01 million crowns.

One of the reasons for the lack of interest in the building is that, according to estimates, it needs reconstruction costing more than half a billion crowns. The Liberec Region expressed interest in the Skloexport building last spring, wanting to adapt it for accommodation of up to 500 Ukrainian refugees, but they could not agree on the conditions for a gratuitous transfer with ÚZSVM. According to Půta, a potential exchange with the firefighters is more advantageous; the region will not be tied to conditions.