Šumperk is preparing the renovation of the cultural house, which will require tens of millions

Šumperk - The Šumperk City Hall is preparing to renovate the local cultural house, which it purchased last year for 18 million crowns from the Kovo Pramet trade union organization. According to city representatives, the venue for local cultural events and especially for the international Blues Alive festival urgently needs renovation. If plans allow, it should take place in 2019. However, according to the organizers, the blues festival, which is considered the most significant of its kind in Central Europe, will remain in the city during the renovations.

"At this moment, a basic study has been commissioned, which should address the spatial layout for the renovation and adjustment of the cultural house. If approved, the design process will begin. We do not foresee the design starting earlier than in 2018. If everything goes well, the renovation could start in 2019, which would affect the entire season. In the year when the renovations begin, the organizers of all major events will have to find a way to accommodate them," said the mayor of Šumperk, Zdeněk Brož, to ČTK.

The planned renovation of the cultural house was also a topic of conversation among visitors at the recent Blues Alive festival. According to the city, the event will definitely take place next year at the same location given the renovation plans. The organizers stated that the event will not move out of the city even when the renovations begin. "The next edition of the festival will be on the same date and at the same location. We are definitely not considering moving it to another city. We want to stay in Šumperk. We will address the situation when it arises," said Vladimír Rybička, the director of the Blues Alive festival, to ČTK.

City representatives estimate that the renovation will cost approximately 50 million crowns. According to the mayor, the renovation will affect the utilities, sewerage, water, and even air conditioning. "The cultural house was built in the late 1970s, and since then, there have been no major renovations," noted the mayor.

The purchase of the building housing the Šumperk cultural house was approved by the councilors last September. The only social center in the city had previously belonged to the Kovo Pramet trade union. If the city had not purchased it, there was a risk that all cultural events would lose their infrastructure. However, the land under the building, owned by the state, has not yet been resolved. "We are still negotiating the land. The state is asking us for six million crowns for it, claiming that one square meter under the cultural house costs 1500 crowns. We are trying to oppose this, but we have been unsuccessful," the mayor added.

It was precisely the land that prompted the trade unionists to decide to sell the building. The state also pressured them to buy the land for six million crowns and to pay an annual rent of 600,000 crowns until the land was purchased. The city will pay the unionists for the purchase of the building in installments over a period of ten years.