In Pardubice, the construction of polytechnic workshops has begun

Pardubice - Construction of the polytechnic workshops began today in Pardubice, costing 271 million crowns. The construction company has 27 months to complete the renovation of one of the former mill buildings. Afterwards, there will be an educational and cultural center, city representatives stated today.

The city will transform the former flour warehouse, which it has owned since 2018. The building and project were acquired for 15.5 million crowns from the Smetana couple, who bought the three-year-abandoned site from a private company for 22 million crowns in 2016.

The design by the Smetana couple proposed the entire concept and appearance of the workshops and the city gallery. "The Gallery of the City of Pardubice needs as much open space as possible for exhibitions; the workshops will be top-notch training facilities for primary and secondary school students, where a quiet environment for learning is also essential," said architect Jan Šépka to ČTK.

A minor part of the packaged flour building will remain; it is a renovation and completion project, and the workshops will be a new construction above the gallery, standing on columns. "I had the opportunity to co-create the vision. I participated in the overall concept of the mill area," said Šépka.

The city has allocated 313 million crowns for the construction part of the project. Some will go to construction supervision and any additional costs. Another contractor will work on low-voltage connections or modifications to parts of the public spaces. An additional 90 million crowns will be spent on the equipment for the workshops and the gallery.

Currently, there are three owners of the mill complex. The region bought a silo for 21 million crowns and is already building spaces for the East Bohemia Gallery there. The Smetana couple initially preferred a long-term lease of the silo. Later, they established a foundation and retained the public spaces and remaining buildings, so there could be apartments in part of the area. All entities will draw on European grants.

"This is a very significant investment. I don’t perceive it as a mistake that we didn’t buy the site ourselves; we were fortunate. I believe that the city would not have had the potential to provide such a foundation," said Mayor Martin Charvát (ANO).

At one location, there will be polytechnic education and a cultural center. If the city were to arrange everything, it would take much longer, he added.

The mills were designed by architect Josef Gočár. They were built between 1909 and 1911, with a new silo added in the 1920s, connected to the older section by a bridge. Gočár's buildings are a national cultural monument. The buildings from later years are not heritage protected.