Litomyšl will once again try to find interested parties for Villa Klára

Litomyšl - Litomyšl will attempt again to find a buyer for Villa Klára, for which the city has no use and lacks funds for repairs. It aimed to sell it last year, but none of the proposals from two investors gained support among the council members. In the new procurement process, the conditions will be more flexible, said Mayor Daniel Brýdl (Generation 89) to the council today.

"We agreed to offer Villa Klára again, but in the broadest possible variant, that is, not just for sale, but also for other legal types of disposal, namely theoretical leases from residential to investment. It is an interesting house in an interesting location. We agreed on a significant change, that the offer will be made in a two-round process," said Brýdl.

By the end of May, interested parties should submit a proposal of about ten pages outlining what they would like to create from the villa. This should include a financial plan and securing financing. However, the town hall does not require construction plans or visualizations, as these would be costly for potential investors. In the second round, selected interested parties will present their visions for the future appearance of the building to the city leadership.

In the previous competition, the town hall set a uniform selling price of six million crowns, with the main criteria being future use, benefit for residents, and respect for the historical character of the area near the castle. Now, the conditions are more flexible. The future user can modify the villa with regard to the zoning plan and connections to surrounding complexes and the castle with the brewery and monastery gardens, which form one urban and architectural unit. They cannot change the height of the building. The city emphasizes quality architecture and also requires the creation of adequate parking capacities.

In the previous round, the local company Kubík expressed interest, which mainly operates retail and wholesale businesses in food and textiles. They offered 11 million crowns for the property and are located next to the villa in the so-called new brewery. They wanted to connect both areas and build an experiential conference hotel with wellness, a brewery, partially providing spa services and accommodation in the villa, and a large underground parking garage. They also promised to create 78 jobs. A petition was created against the sale to Kubík. The authors of the Petition for the Protection of the Genius Loci of the Castle Hill in Litomyšl consider the company's plan to be unreasonably ambitious and risky. They also object to its proximity to the Renaissance castle.

The second interested parties, the Kučera couple, wanted to create a community center with a café and workshop for seniors from the villa. They also considered collaborating with the Faculty of Restoration of the University of Pardubice, which is located in the city and needs accommodation for foreign students, or possibly further renting. They were willing to pay six million crowns for the building.

Litomyšl acquired the building in 2020 for five million crowns from the Pardubice Region. Until 2018, it housed a long-term care facility, but the property was in poor condition, and the regional government moved the facility to the campus of Litomyšl Hospital.

The villa, built in 1895, is in the neo-Renaissance style, constructed by brewer Karel Sedlák from Litomyšl. Since 1929, it was the Home of Saint Klára under the administration of the Order of Charles Borromeo, which Sedlák donated to the association. From 1949, it was state-owned. The section for long-term patients was there from 1974.