The reconstruction of the historic slaughterhouse in Ostrava will begin next year

Ostrava - The reconstruction of the historic building of the former slaughterhouse near the center of Ostrava could begin next year. The city expects to search for a contractor for the reconstruction in the spring. Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO) told reporters today.

City councilors approved the winner of the international architectural competition on Tuesday, in which the jury evaluated the works of a total of eight offices. The design that intrigued them the most came from the Prague studio Petr Hájek Architekti. The building is set to become the home of the city gallery PLATO Ostrava.

The city will now sign a contract with the author of the winning design for the preparation of the project documentation. "If everything goes well, we could have the project completed in about six to eight months from today, and then start competing for the construction contractor. The competition itself and the preparation of the tender documentation will take some time. I believe that sometime in the summer or autumn of 2018, the construction could begin," Macura stated. He predicts that the reconstruction could take 12 to 18 months.

A condition set by the city was that the reconstruction should not exceed 150 million crowns. An expert was present during the jury's deliberations to comment on whether the designs could meet this requirement. The winning design is expected to comply with this condition.

The municipal slaughterhouse building in the city center was constructed in 1881. However, in 1994, the district of Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz sold the two-hectare plot, along with the slaughterhouse building, to the company Bauhaus for over 38 million crowns. The company built its DIY market close to the slaughterhouse.

However, the slaughterhouse fell into disrepair and was never renovated, and the store later also ceased operations. The city has long sought to regain the protected slaughterhouse, and it took it back last September. It paid 80 million crowns for it as well as for the former Bauhaus store. According to the latest expert opinion, the value of the area is more than 90 million crowns.