The councilors of Pilsen changed the zoning plan for a possible gallery

One of the two winning designs from the competition held in 2003. Authors: Václav Ulč, Radek Dragoun, and Eva Švarcová-Špelinová

Plzeň - The Plzeň city council proposed on Thursday to approve a change to the zoning plan in the area U Zvonu in the center of Plzeň from urban green space to mixed central area. The Plzeň Region requested the city leadership to build a new building for the West Bohemian Gallery on the attractive site of a house demolished after the floods in 2002. The change to the zoning plan still needs to be approved by the councilors, Mayor Pavel Rödl told reporters today.
    "It is 99.5 percent clear that any development, including a gallery, will not be able to meet the requirements for parking spaces on the surface in this area, so if this area continues to be built on, there will need to be underground parking spaces," said the mayor.
    Despite strong pressure for quick development of the area after the demolition of the house destroyed by floods in 2002, the city has modified the small park that still exists there. With the change in the zoning plan, Plzeň opens the possibility of developing the vacant space on the edge of the park ring, as proposed by conservationists and architects. According to them, the area should be redeveloped to clearly define the park ring. Participants in the public architectural competition that the city announced to resolve the area in 2003 shared a similar opinion. Out of a total of 47 proposals, 44 architects suggested constructing a building, while only three wanted a park on the site.
    According to Rödl, only the Plzeň Region has so far expressed interest in the area; if other investors show up, the council would decide what would ultimately be built on the vacant site.
    The Plzeň Region would like to build a new modern gallery at U Zvonu with the help of EU subsidies for 270 million crowns. Originally, the regional council considered two locations - in a historic building in the Škoda complex and in the center, on the edge of the park ring at U Zvonu. A study commissioned by the region clearly identified the U Zvonu location as the better site. The new exhibition should showcase rare and unique works that are currently in storage. The basis of the exhibition will be the presentation of the best pieces from the collection, primarily from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.