Plzeň will not buy the former spa in the center. The Italians will convert it into a hotel

Plzeň - Plzeň has definitively given up its intention to buy the former municipal baths in the city center. The city hall has been striving for the extensive building for two years for a regional gallery or another significant institution. Today, the councilors rejected the offer to purchase the dilapidated building, partially protected as a historical monument, for the price of 24 million crowns. They consider the price exaggerated. The owner of the abandoned property, the Prague company Amádeus Real, will now sell the property to an Italian investor, who will build a luxury hotel and office complex there.
"At the last meeting with the owner and the real estate agency Klark, we wanted a discount, but in vain," stated the economic deputy mayor Vladimír Duchek (True Choice for Plzeň). According to ČTK information, they proposed five million crowns. The city hall did not even agree on the possibility of using the parking spaces of the planned building that Amádeus is preparing on the adjacent plot.
Council member Miroslav Brabec from ČSSD stated that the requested price is speculative and criticized the city leadership for not being able to negotiate a discount. Pieces of masonry are falling from the building, and it is allegedly dangerous for citizens. "Why didn't we file a criminal complaint for public endangerment?" Brabec asked. According to Pavel Troch from Klark, the state of the building is the fault of the city, which has failed to make a clear decision for over two years.
"In two weeks, we will sign a prepared contract with a strong Italian investor who owns luxury hotels in Prague and other locations in the Czech Republic," said Troch. The Italians particularly liked the location in the center and the building itself.
According to mayor Miroslav Kalouse, who was permanently in favor of purchasing the property, it is one of the most beautiful houses in the city. The city hall, building authority, and heritage conservationists will ensure that the property is converted into offices or a hotel, according to Duchek. The minimum costs for modifying the property are 200 million crowns.
The city council had already rejected the purchase of the former baths in February. The reason was the fact that their owner did not want to sell the neighboring half-hectare plot. He plans to construct a four-story shopping center with offices there, the project of which is nearing completion. Construction is expected to begin within two years. Amádeus is planning underground garages for 200 vehicles. At the last meeting regarding the purchase of the baths, the city hall demanded 120 parking spaces.
The city and the region wanted to create a permanent exhibition of approximately 10,000 paintings, which the West Bohemian Gallery has in storage, in the baths.
The baths, with two pools, were acquired 12 years ago in privatization by a private individual who later went bankrupt. Five years ago, Amádeus bought them for ten million crowns.