The Ústí Region is preparing the reconstruction of the factory owner's villa Kinda in the center of Ústí

Ústí nad Labem - The Ústí Region is preparing for the reconstruction of the historic villa of the industrialist Kind in the center of Ústí nad Labem. The so-called European Library will be located there. The estimated cost of the renovation is 61 million crowns. The regional council approved the initiation of the public contract procurement process for construction work at the end of June.

The historically valuable building on Na Schodech Street is connected by a basement to the new extension of the Ústí Region Library's depository, which opened to the public in February 2022. The three-story villa was commissioned by the successful Ústí entrepreneur and chemist Richard Kind from the prominent Viennese architect Hartwig Fischel at the end of the 19th century. After 1945, the villa housed a telecommunications training institute, and later it was acquired by the library for its depositories.

The modifications include a complete replacement of internal installations, façade, windows, and roofing, including structural modifications to the roof trusses, installation of an elevator in the stairwell, and drainage and insulation of the building at ground level. It also comprises all conservation adjustments to surfaces, replacement of flooring, and refurbishment of internal doors. The project also includes the supply of internal furnishings.

The region is financing the costs from its own budget. "If a suitable grant title is found, we will try to obtain a grant for the project," said Magdalena Fraňková, spokeswoman for the regional government, to ČTK. A European grant was managed to be obtained during the construction of the neighboring new depository extension, which also created a parking lot on the roof. The costs amounted to over 150 million crowns..

The villa will house an educational and foreign language center and a digitization unit.