The Krnov Town Hall bought the building of the department store Prior

Krnov - The Krnov City Hall has purchased the Prior department store building. The city council allocated 37 million crowns for the purchase. The city already owned part of the building with apartments. In the newly purchased section, additional apartments or a library are planned to be created. However, part of the space will continue to be used by retailers. This was stated by the city's spokesperson Dita Círová.

"The name Prior on the facade of the department store is a thing of the past. The logo of the previous owner, the Prior company, has already been removed by the city," said the spokesperson. According to her, another important step was to reach an agreement with current tenants regarding the lease and also deposits for provided services. The operation of the building is currently managed by two former employees of Prior, and from February 2020, their duties will be transferred to the city office staff.

"The city intends to renovate the building in the coming years to find enough space not only for shops but mainly for the city library and additional apartments," she added. This also arises from a study commissioned by the city from the Ostrava branch of the British architectural firm RMJM.

One of the largest buildings in the city center, which consists of retail space, apartments, and technical facilities with storage and office spaces, has been proposed by architects to be divided, through partial demolition, into two smaller units via a pedestrian passage. According to the proposal, part of the building should be transformed into a four-story structure with a library, a meeting hall for the needs of the city, cafes, apartments, and technical facilities. The second unit consists of a single-story commercial part that connects with existing buildings featuring municipal apartments.

The building, constructed in 1983, will require extensive investments according to city representatives. The facility is very outdated and should not remain in its current form. The city has long lacked a hall for council meetings, which would be in a better walking distance for locals than the fire station in Kostelec. A city police station could also be located here.

The Prior building with apartments was constructed between 1980 and 1983 based on the winning competition proposal from an architectural competition held in 1967 for the redevelopment of the Krnov city center. It spans an area of 5,532 square meters and consists of a courtyard and a building that includes both commercial and residential sections.