In the spring, the reconstruction of part of the Automatic Mills should begin

Pardubice - The reconstruction of part of the former Automatic Mills in Pardubice into spaces for the East Bohemian Gallery is set to begin in the spring. The leadership of the Pardubice Region, which owns the monument-protected building, has already selected a construction company, with the lowest bid amounting to almost 280 million CZK excluding VAT. The project has a valid building permit, Zuzana Nováková from the governor's office stated in a press release today.

"We have also selected a technical supervisor for the investor, who will oversee this large construction on behalf of the Pardubice Region. The East Bohemian Gallery could thus start relocating in 2022 from its premises in the Pardubice Castle to the former mills. This will free up space for the East Bohemian Museum and its planned visitor center in the courtyard," said Deputy Governor for Property, Investment, and Culture Roman Línek (Coalition for Pardubice Region).

Mladá fronta DNES recently pointed out in its appendix for the Pardubice Region that when the regional authority purchased the main building of the Automatic Mills from private owners for 22.5 million CZK in April 2018, the council claimed that 160 million CZK excluding VAT would be sufficient to establish the gallery. Later, the region announced that costs had increased by a third due to the detailed project. According to them, it was expensive to meet fire regulations in the building and to resolve engineering networks. Further price increases reportedly came from the rise in construction costs at the time the region selected a construction company in the tender.

The Pardubice Region intends to obtain a subsidy from the Integrated Territorial Investments program of the Hradec Králové-Pardubice agglomeration (ITI) for the reconstruction. According to Governor Martin Netolický (CSSD), the region plans to submit an application in July.

The mills in Pardubice operated until 2013. Goodmills offered them to the city, but the city ultimately did not take up the offer. In 2016, the Smetana couple paid approximately 22 million CZK for the mills. They later sold part to the city of Pardubice and part to the Pardubice Region. The municipalities collectively paid 36.5 million CZK to architect Smetana and his wife for the properties, land, and feasibility study. The city of Pardubice will build polytechnic workshops in the area, and the Gallery of the City of Pardubice will also gain new facilities.

Since 2014, the mills have been a national cultural monument. They were designed by architect Josef Gočár for the brothers Egon and Karel Winternitz. They were built between 1909 and 1911, and a new silo was added in the 1920s, connected to the older part by an overpass. In the second half of the last century, a four-story extension extended the left riverside wing, and additional buildings were erected in the area.