The reconstruction of Uran will be decided only by the new leadership of Liberec

Liberec - The new management of Liberec will decide on the reconstruction of the seven-story Uran building, which houses the municipal police and some departments of the municipality. The extensive building is in poor condition, and the repair costs, according to a structural survey, will amount to around 150 million crowns. This was stated today by Mayor Tibor Batthyány (former ANO) to reporters. This is significantly more than the previous estimate, which counted on an investment of 27 to 80 million crowns.

The mayor wanted to develop a study that would clarify the reconstruction costs and assess the option of a possible extension at the rear. However, he did not find support for this in the city council. "I respect that, but I take it unhappily. These are another four months that we will literally waste and do nothing. The condition of Uran is tragic," he said. In the last two weeks, there have been two accidents involving the sewer and risers.

The building with a steel skeleton is located near the bus station on 1st May Avenue. Apart from the reconstruction of the ground floor in 2009, Uran has not undergone any significant repairs. The city received the building, constructed in 1969, for free from the state in 2005. The city employs about 180 staff in Uran, in addition to the municipal police, there is also the social care department and part of the transportation agenda.

Against the development of a study on Uran was the deputy mayor for economics, Jan Korytář (Change for Liberec). He had issues with the assignment, including that the city management should make a strategic decision on whether to create space for an additional 100 officials with the extension. "This would bring the entire project to an estimated investment realm of 250 million crowns. And if we are to examine whether another part of Uran will be completed, given the amount of investment, the new city council should decide on this," he stated.

The deputy mayor for education, culture, and social affairs, Ivan Langr (former Change), also currently considers the study unnecessary. "For me, it’s about whether we want to reconstruct Uran for this money or find another space for the officials," Langr said. The mayor recently acknowledged that one option could be to buy a castle in the city center from a private owner for about 100 million crowns and move the officials there.

Last year, the mayor stated that he wanted to start the reconstruction of Uran this year. However, given the state of preparations, any repairs will not begin until at least 2020. There is no other building in Liberec where city officials work that is in worse technical condition than Uran. The outer casing, made of so-called Boletice panels, is particularly dangerous for its surroundings. There is also protective scaffolding around the building to prevent anything from falling onto the sidewalk that leads from the center to the train station.