Two more studies will be created for the Brno concert hall project

Brno - The project for a concert hall, which the Brno Philharmonic has been striving for nearly 100 years, will likely be reviewed again by geologists, urban planners, and experts in transportation and construction budgets. The Brno city council wants to summarize the results of all studies that have been conducted on the project in recent years. They should also supplement the analyses that are missing. Initially, the Brno Philharmonic was supposed to commission the processing of the material, but the council rejected this today and preliminarily agreed that the investment department of the city council would handle the contract, said the Deputy Mayor Barbora Javorová (KDU-ČSL) to ČTK.
    The Janáček Cultural Center is to be built on the site of the current parking lot next to the Besední dům in the city center. The project has been discussed in Brno for years. Various studies have been created for it, but many materials are already outdated, and the city wants to update them. In addition, missing documents need to be supplemented, such as a study addressing parking or subsurface conditions. A stream flows beneath the surface of the land where construction is planned, and it is unclear whether it would be possible to build a multi-story complex with underground garages there.
    The summarizing and supplementary study is expected to cost around 1.2 million Czech crowns. "We would find out how the project stands today, what the funding situation is, whether to continue in this location or look for another, and so on," Javorová stated. She added that investing in this study seems more efficient to the city’s leadership than immediately having ten million crowns spent on documentation for the zoning process. While processing the documentation, it could, for instance, become clear that the building cannot be constructed on the selected site, she mentioned.
    The decision of the council does not bother the director of the Brno Philharmonic, David Mareček, as long as officials act quickly. "If the investment department completes the work we should have done within three months, we will be glad," he told ČTK today. However, he added that the philharmonic insists on the construction of the concert hall. Currently, they perform at the Besední dům, where they have a small hall available, or at the Janáček Theatre. According to Mareček, Brno has gotten used to this situation, but he emphasized that it is only a temporary arrangement, and musicians are not performing under regular conditions.
    The costs of the construction have not been precisely calculated, but they would likely exceed one billion crowns. Brno has pledged nearly 190 million crowns, the same amount would be provided by the region, and funding from the state and the EU is also expected. According to Mareček, the primary issue is not the total investment amount, but the future operating costs. Brno is not willing to increase its contribution to the philharmonic because of the concert hall. The subsidy currently amounts to about 53 million crowns.