Experts: The permit for the high-rise building in Olomouc is surrounded by uncertainties

Olomouc - The Olomouc City Hall, in granting approval for the planned construction of the tall building Spiritualia near the city center, has reportedly acted in a non-standard manner and seemingly tried to accommodate the investor, according to some experts and architects. Discontented architects and art historians argue that the high-rise building will irreparably damage the historical skyline of the city. Owners of apartments nearby are now trying to overturn the City Hall's decision. The investor counters that the new building will not disrupt the view of the historical center of the city.
     The project for the 45-meter-high tower in the BEA complex was prepared by Tesco SW, a company owned by entrepreneur Josef Tesařík. Representatives of the association For Beautiful Olomouc pointed out today that the construction office of the magistrate issued a positive zoning decision for this project the day before the new zoning plan came into effect, which does not allow the construction of further high-rise buildings in this part of the city. "It is astonishing how there is an effort to push everything through covertly and without public participation. And what is worst, in cooperation with the city leadership and on the edge of legality," said Martina Mertová from the association For Beautiful Olomouc.
     "The development of the BEA center, which connects the academic world with the business world, is a contribution of a private company to the long-term prosperity of the city and the region. It is paradoxical that the construction of Spiritualia, whose mission is to create an environment in which future managers and entrepreneurs can dedicate themselves to ethical and spiritual values that transcend ordinary business operations, is criticized," said Tomáš Jelínek, spokesperson for Tesco SW, to ČTK.
     According to Jelínek, public debate about the construction of the entire complex, including Spiritualia, has been ongoing for several years. "Spiritualia is located outside the historical center. It is about thirty meters shorter than the main building of the BEA center, so the issue of preserving the skyline is more a question of whether Olomouc has ended its development in the last century," noted Jelínek, according to whom the investor is waiting for a binding decision on the construction. "We could start building in half a year or a year," he added.
     The representative of the apartment owners nearby has filed objections against the issuance of the zoning decision for the Spiritualia tower. Residents of the apartment building want the magistrate's decision to be annulled because the officials are allegedly biased. "The city leadership has given the controversial construction the green light in exchange for the fulfillment of trivial conditions that the investor has not met," stated Zdeněk Hrbáček, a representative of the apartment owners.
     Hrbáček claims that the city council removed the zoning study from the records, which adjusted the height building rules in the area of the former barracks. "We had to respect it and built a lower house than we had planned, but the investor of Spiritualia did not," he pointed out. According to him, the City Hall brushed aside the objections, so the apartment owners appealed to the regional office and did not rule out a lawsuit.
     In Olomouc, there are two new high-rise buildings. The regional center built by entrepreneur Tesařík is 71 meters tall, and the building of the Moravian University of Finance in the BEA complex is 74 meters. A 75-meter-high building called Šantovka Tower was being prepared near the city center. However, the new zoning plan does not account for high-rise buildings. The investor of Šantovka recently sued the city.