Pardubice: The reconstruction of a building intended for demolition is too costly

Pardubice - The leadership of Pardubice will again attempt to convince the city council to approve the demolition of a building in Jana Perner Square. The residential building is to make way for a planned terminal for public transport; otherwise, it may not be possible to build it at all. If the city hall is unsuccessful, one alternative is to convert the building into accommodation. This was stated today by Deputy Mayor Helena Dvořáčková (ANO).

"If the building is not demolished, we will have to reconstruct it, with the lowest estimated cost being 20 million crowns," said Dvořáčková. She added that due to the noise in the street, the building no longer meets the parameters for regular housing. Converting the building into accommodation would be costly partly because it does not meet fire safety regulations.

"It could be accommodation, but I can't imagine it. The reconstruction would be expensive; the staircase and air conditioning would need to be modified; it's not simple," said the mayor's deputy.

She does not know the exact proposal for the terminal's construction but assumes that without the demolition of the residential building, it would not fit there. Therefore, the councilors will discuss the money for demolition again, now with a specific amount offered by the winner of the tender. In the past, councilors approved the demolition of the house but did not approve the funds for the demolition work.

The city hall has already moved out almost all tenants from about thirty apartments in the building. Today, the council approved that the last two apartments would be vacated by the end of April. All residents have received or will receive alternative housing in municipal apartments. At the same time, the city is giving them 20,000 crowns for moving costs.

The tenants received a fixed-term lease for the apartments they moved into, lasting one year, which is typical in today's legal practice according to the deputy mayor. After one year, their lease will automatically extend to an indefinite period, except in cases where people do not pay rent to the city.

"I have no information from the property department that we have not extended a lease for anyone in the last few years," the deputy mayor added.

Besides the terminal for public transport at the train station, which the city hall will complete in June, there is also a plan for a Terminal B for scheduled transport. The city is currently selecting a designer. It is intended to create a multimodal transport hub for all types of land public transport. Additionally, the city hall plans to connect the train station with the Dukla housing estate via a footbridge, where a South Terminal for public transport with a parking lot will be situated.