Plzeň begins the reconstruction of the former brewery and Světovar barracks

Plzeň - Plzeň is finalizing the selection of a company that will transform the former Světovar brewery and barracks into a cultural center and archive. The EU-funded project, including infrastructure for the six-hectare site, will cost 267 million CZK. The city has allocated over 70 million CZK for it this year. Construction was supposed to start already, but the project is delayed, said Martin Zrzavecký, the mayor's deputy (CSSD), today to ČTK.
    "If a contractor is selected now and the project begins to be implemented, it will open only in March or April 2015. Therefore, it won't be ready by January 2015 for the start of the European Capital of Culture (EHMK)," he stated.
    The funds for the renovation and infrastructure have already been approved by the council, but discussions are ongoing regarding the focus and use of the so-called cultural factory 4x4, which was meant to focus on alternative culture. The main part of the money, up to 200 million CZK, is expected to go into the project next year.
    "There is an ongoing tender for the contractor. An informative report will be submitted to the council on October 10, detailing how the facility can be used," the deputy said. The new management of the city company Plzeň 2015, which is preparing the EHMK program, has prepared it for the councilors.
    According to Zrzavecký, the perspective on the Světovar area is changing, where hundreds of apartments are to be built on a third of the site. A tender for a developer and the sale of land is currently being prepared. However, if a non-commercial cultural center were to be established there, it could mean that the city would sell the surrounding land for apartments at significantly lower prices, resulting in a loss of tens of millions CZK.
    Plzeň 2015 has stated that to operate the center, it will need at least ten million CZK annually from the city, provided it finds a partner to utilize the cultural facility. However, the city council would lose influence over what happens there. "If the city wants to manage everything, then it would be 30 million CZK per year. We are not counting on that in the budgets,” he stated.
    Plzeň 2015 has now proposed that it could operate for as little as five million CZK, but on the condition that the cultural factory would also organize similar events to those currently held at the city Beseda. "There will be discussions about this because the basis of the Světovar project was that it wouldn't cannibalize other city facilities. It was supposed to be a new dimension," Zrzavecký noted. There is a growing opinion in Plzeň that the archive and cultural center should be built while only painting and carrying out basic repairs in the existing facility.