The reconstruction of the former insurance company in Česká Lípa for the town hall is set to begin in the spring

Česká Lípa – The reconstruction of the former insurance company building in Česká Lípa for the needs of the municipal office is expected to begin next spring. The city hall is selecting a contractor and has allocated 95 million crowns in the budget for the construction. Kristýna Kňákal Brožová, spokesperson for the city office, informed ČTK about this. Due to rising construction labor and material costs, the project designers estimated the expenses, including VAT, to be nearly 97 million crowns, part of which the city plans to pay from a grant.

The building, which was constructed in the 1990s for Česká pojišťovna, has been empty and deteriorating for seven years. The city purchased it in April 2019 for 18 million crowns from a private owner who was in bankruptcy. It acquired the property from the bankruptcy trustee for a price 2.278 million crowns higher than the appraisal value. According to the mayor, Jitka Volfová (ANO), the city hall wanted to prevent the building from being turned into accommodations for foreign workers. The city has already invested two million crowns in necessary repairs to avoid further damage to the vacant property.

When acquiring the building, the city hall estimated that necessary modifications would be sufficient within ten million, but ultimately the construction will require a fundamental overhaul that will cost ten times more. This is due to more extensive modifications as well as complete insulation of the building, including window replacement, which is expected to reduce energy costs by 60 percent in the future. "We decided that we want to create a high-quality barrier-free workplace there, which is why the layout of the interior space had to be changed. If the reconstruction is done well now, the building won't need any intervention for another twenty to thirty years," said Volfová.

The project also includes the use of solar panels and the construction of a rainwater retention tank. Employees from several municipal buildings are expected to move into the new building, which will also lead to savings. "The workplaces for personal documents, driver's licenses, vehicle registration, the offenses department, the transport department, the education, culture, sports, and tourism department, internal audit, and the trade office should move there," added Deputy Mayor Martin Brož (ANO).

In Česká Lípa, all counter workplaces will relocate to one place in the city center, where there is good parking availability, nearby city and regional bus stops, and a cycling route running alongside. The new office will serve not only the residents of Česká Lípa but the entire catchment area, which is home to 74,000 people.