The modernization of the Grand shopping center in Pardubice is three-quarters complete.

Pardubice – The modernization of the Grand shopping center in Pardubice is three-quarters complete. In the spring of next year, the investor will hand over the shops to the tenants, so that the building can open in the fall. This was communicated to journalists today by the representatives of the investor. The listed functionalist building was designed by Josef Gočár.

"It is already visible how the building will look. The glass atrium is finished, the air conditioning ducts are complete, and it is cleaned up. The shop windows and other details will be done," said Ondřej Heřman, director of the Pardubice branch of the PSN company, which is the investor.

Construction started at the end of 2023. A glazed atrium has been created in front of the building, or escalators have been installed. One floor that was added in the 1990s has been removed. The shopping passages will be wider.

"We are working with exposed original reinforced concrete structures. Their final surface treatment was a certain challenge. We are revealing the palace’s structure in its rawness. The challenge was to match it with the clean interior," said architect Jiří Opočenský, who designed the transformation with his colleagues.

The architects want to restore the building's original character. "We are working with flooring that has a mosaic pattern. We are drawing on the construction system of the building. The interior atrium will have aspects of the cultural hall that used to be here," Opočenský added.

The listed Grand has a blue cladding on its facade. It was originally a hotel, later became the seat of the district office, and, thanks to the café, restaurant, and wine bar, it was also a center of social life. It is located at the corner of Míru Street and Republic Square. The street is the longest commercial zone in the city center.

Before the change of regime, it was owned by the state enterprise Restaurace a jídelny, then it belonged to the city. Grand is owned by the PSN company, which is modernizing it. The company first owned it from 1996 to 2008. It was then bought by another company, and the building began to decline. PSN repurchased it in 2019.

The center will offer 29 rental units on the first and second floors. There will be a gastro-zone, connected by two separate terraces. On the third floor, the investor will build a coworking space and a summer terrace. The basement will continue to operate a supermarket and the Cinestar cinema, which is also undergoing reconstruction and will offer more modern amenities.

Heřman did not want to disclose the cost of the modernization. "We have some budget. It is a reconstruction. We have some reserve; we will see if we will use it or not," Heřman said.