Ostrava has begun its search for an investment partner for the skyscraper designed by Eva Jiříčná
The high-rise block in Ostrčilova Street known locally by its nickname “the skyscraper” has stood empty since 2013 due to technical problems. Last year, the City of Ostrava decided not to demolish the building, but to retain it as a unique and distinctive urban landmark and to restore it to its original function.
The City is keen to involve the private sector as a partner in the project. It has now announced the first phase of a tender to choose the final partner – a preliminary market consultation which will create contact with potential investors and verify the viability of the project’s proposed technical and contractual parameters in the current market situation.
Deputy Mayor Zuzana Bajgarová gave more details: “The skyscraper is the second residential project in which the City of Ostrava is planning to work alongside the private sector – the first was the Nové Lauby development. The business model is this: the City will sell the building to an investor, the investor will implement the project and bring it to completion, and then the City will buy back part of the building – in this case we will purchase apartments for rental, plus parking spaces for our tenants and the general public. This model is unique in the Czech Republic, and the legislative framework makes it quite complicated. We piloted the model in the Nové Lauby project, and this taught us that it would be a good idea to use a preliminary market consultation to help make the public-private partnership as effective as possible.”
Interested parties can find more information about the preliminary market consultation on the City’s website https://pozemky.ostrava.cz/ and via the City’s profile on https://tenderarena.cz/, where it is possible to register to participate.
The preliminary market consultation will take place in a single round, with replies to be submitted in writing by 10 August 2021.
The comprehensive proposal for the reconstruction of the “skyscraper” was elaborated by the renowned AI Design studio, headed by world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná along with Petr Vágner. The proposal has confirmed the technical viability of reconstructing this building – an option that was under discussion for many years. The development will provide attractive city centre living as well as a café with a viewing terrace on the top floor.
Most of the building will consist of 76 newly designed apartments of various sizes, ranging from single-room (studio) units to exclusive maisonette apartments on the upper floors.
In view of the parking situation in the vicinity and the large number of new apartments that the development will create, it has been decided to build a new parking garage containing 130 to 170 spaces. The garage will be used by current residents and new tenants.
The City expects that project documentation will be drawn up in 2021 and 2022, and ideally, the reconstruction itself will begin in 2023. The estimated cost of the project is 390 million CZK (including the parking garage).
