Český Krumlov has temporarily closed the former barracks area in Vyšný, where it is planning a new urban quarter. Trees are now being cut down there and the area will be closed until the end of February. The town plans to design the first apartment building and some family houses in the new district later this year, announced City hall spokeswoman Petra Nestávalová.
According to an architectural study, up to 3,500 people are expected to live in the new Nový Dvůr district. The buildable area is 60,000 square metres. The study envisages up to 1,200 flats. A study of a home for the elderly with 100 to 120 beds has also been completed. Construction on the site should take 15 to 20 years, former deputy mayor Josef Hermann (KDU-ČSL) said last year. An earlier estimate of the cost of all the buildings was CZK 4 billion. The 24 hectares could include apartment buildings, a home for the elderly, a kindergarten, a restaurant and other services.
The area is now closed for security reasons. It is being dug up, so there are unsecured places such as canals without manhole covers or pits. The company is now removing trees that are in poor condition and woody debris. “The work will last until the end of February and for safety reasons the area will be closed to the public until then,” the spokeswoman said. The company is not cutting everything, perhaps the young beech trees will remain. New trees and shrubs will also be planted, according to Jan Štěpánek of the city’s investment department.
After the felling, the city wants to make the green belt that crosses the area from north to south accessible to people. It will temporarily build a walkway there. It will allow people to walk through the area from the train station to Vyšný.
Heat would be supplied to the district by a new central source, and large energy companies are interested in the future contract, Hermann said last year. Český Krumlov has lost about 10 percent of its population in the last 20 years. One of the problems, according to the town’s previous leadership, is a short supply of housing.
New apartments are already being built on the former site of Český Krumlov’s Jitona. The SVV real development company is building an apartment complex there called Krumlovský vltavín, based on a design by Atelier 8000. It will include 193 apartments and flats. The first phase should be completed in the second half of this year, when the companies will finish the six-storey apartment building.
Český Krumlov, which is home to about 13,000 people, has a budget this year with revenues of CZK 463.9 million and expenditures of CZK 541.2 million. The town will cover the 77.3 million deficit with money left over from previous years. It has earmarked 105 million for investments.
Source: CTK
