Crestyl will not repair Slezanka in Opava, it will build next to it

“To this day, we have not received specific requests from the city. No one responded to our offer to incorporate and renovate Slezanka, which we submitted in a public competition a year ago. Everyone must understand that after more than ten years of work, we can no longer afford further revisions and delays in the project. Therefore, we have decided to implement the project in the area behind Slezanka in a way that complies with the existing contract,” said Simon Johnson, the CEO of the Crestyl Group.

The mayor of the city, Radim Křupala (ČSSD), told ČTK that the city hall must respect Crestyl's intentions. The company has had a contract with the city for several years that allows it to develop the area behind Slezanka. Otherwise, the magistrate would have to pay a fine. “However, we expect that this announcement will be communicated to the city officially. We also await a detailed description of the company’s plans,” Křupala stated. He does not want to predict the city's next steps at this time.

The Slezanka shopping center is one of the city's significant problems. The town hall has been searching for an operator for a long time. Currently, the city officials are directly handling the leases of individual spaces. Seven interested parties applied in last year's tender. Six of them showed interest in parts of the building. Only one submitted a proposal to operate the entire center. This was, in fact, the development company Crestyl, which plans to build an entirely new retail and social complex in the immediate vicinity.

The previous city administration purchased the unattractive Slezanka building in the central Upper Square in 2008 from a private owner. At that time, representatives of Opava expressed a willingness to invest in the repair of the building or its demolition and the construction of a new center. The city took out a loan of 270 million crowns to pay the purchase price. The center then remained almost empty for a long time until 2012 when it managed to find a tenant. This was the company BQZ Moravia, which belongs to the Mint group. However, the tenant was unable to pay the eight-million annual rent and owed the city two million crowns. The town hall therefore decided to terminate the contract.

The Slezanka shopping center is a panel building constructed on the site of old houses that stood in the 17th century. The block, resembling a residential area, connects to the historical buildings in the center and neighbors with a Gothic church.