Poděbrady wants to acquire Lázeňská kolonáda Congress Centre

Poděbrady wants to acquire the building of the Lázeňská kolonáda Congress Centre for its planned large cultural hall with a capacity of 800 people. The city wants to exchange it for the buildings next to the town hall on Jiřího náměstí, and is now negotiating with the owner of the centre, the company Lázně Poděbrady. The city is also negotiating with the owner of another building, which would house a hall with a smaller capacity for 400 to 500 people, according to Vice-mayor Ladislav Langr (Volba pro Poděbrady).

According to Langr, both options are a solution where the town would not have to build on the greenfield site, the buildings would be reconstructed and the estimated investment is CZK 100 and 120 million. In the Congress Centre on the colonnade, the city planned, for example, to connect all the spaces and reduce the size of the kitchen. "However, the spa has its own intention to renovate the building and use it fully for cultural and social purposes, so it is not clear yet," Langr said. If the city fails to acquire the convention center, it has another option ready. "The owner of that space is also a private entity, the capacity of the place would be 400 to 500 seats," Langr said. He said clarity could come by the end of September.

In exchange for the Congress Centre, the city is offering the spa a complex of buildings next to the town hall, the so-called Hlinka Houses, for which it currently has no use. "If the exchange cannot be negotiated, we would sell the Hlinka houses and the profit from the sale would be used for the reconstruction of the future hall in the case of the second option," Langr added.

In addition to the efforts to create a large-capacity cultural hall, the city is working on building a smaller hall for about 150 people in the former boiler room in Hakenova Street. "It would serve as a meeting place for seniors, for exercise classes, dance groups, intimate theatre and music performances," Langr said. He said completion is expected by the end of next year. The city has a study and is preparing to commission design documents.

The city has long lacked space to host larger social and cultural events. Its construction is one of the priorities of the city administration. The largest cultural hall in the city is currently the Theatre Na Kovárně with a capacity of 220 seats.

Source: CTK
Photo: Lázeňská kolonáda