Semily bought the dilapidated hotel Centrum, but have not yet decided what to do with it

Semily - The dilapidated Hotel Centrum next to the Golf Cultural Center in Semily has been purchased by the city. It paid 3.675 million crowns for an interesting example of architecture in the brutalist style of the 1970s and 1980s. However, tens of millions of crowns will need to be invested in its complete reconstruction. "The building is in very poor condition, not a penny has been spent on it for years, it needs a roof, window, and wiring reconstruction," said Mayor Lena Mlejnková (Choice for Semily) to ČTK today, who signed the purchase agreement on behalf of the city on Friday.

Originally, the price was higher, but it was managed to be reduced from four million. "The building needs to be cleared out, and we took that upon ourselves," said the mayor. According to her, there was a long discussion preceding the purchase of the hotel, even though it was at a relatively low price. "Personally, I don't think we should own a hotel or buildings that are more suited for business, but it is part of the Golf Cultural Center, it is in the city center, and we didn’t want to allow agency employees to stay there among other things. We wanted to have control over what happens there," the mayor explained the reasons that led the council members to buy the hotel.

The area of the Golf Cultural Center along with the dining hall, club rooms, and offices was built in 1979 according to a design by Stavoprojekt Liberec. The architect Pavel Švancer, co-author of the hotel and the Ještěd transmitter in Liberec, is credited as the author. The national enterprise Kolora was responsible for the construction of the cultural center at that time, and much of the area was built in the "Z" action. The center was divided into three parts, and in 1986 a hotel was added, built in the same style. The entire complex has been preserved in an authentic form, so the town hall is striving for its designation as a cultural monument. "Now that we have also acquired the hotel, nothing stands in the way," Mlejnková noted.

What will happen to the hotel next is not yet clear according to the mayor. "We will be looking for some grant titles to avoid burdening the budget with the necessary 50 million crowns for reconstruction, which we cannot afford," Mlejnková said. She mentioned that there was discussion about converting the hotel into apartments. "If we were to consider some combination of apartments and a hotel, it would definitely make sense because there is a lack of accommodation capacity in Semily. When events are held here, there are only two hotels. But it raises the question of whether it should be run by the city," she added.