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In the "City of Bytom Downtown-area Renewal and Development Plan" created by city architects, the capital of the municipality has been divided in 145
"quarters", which will be gradually modernized. Because the undertaking exceeds the means of the city budget, the only way to improve the condition of the city's aging buildings are public and private
companies that will resolve to undertake these significant investments. The first step will be taken in one of the most important downtown quarters: Jainty, Webera and Kwietniewskiego Streets.
Not long ago, the
city made the region a contribution in kind to the Przedsiębiorstwo Rewitalizacji "Kwartal" (Kwartał Renewal Company). This is a company in which there are five shareholders: Bytomskie Przedsiębiorstwo
Komunalne (Bytom Municipal Company), the Mirbud general contracting company, Mostostal in Zabrze, ZNP Pokój, Cagro, and Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Kopalń PBK BIS (PBK BIS Mine Construction Company). The new company
presented a financial analysis and a business plan to the PKO BP bank, which is financing the venture. The current value of the run down quarter is estimated at approx. PLN 7 million.
Katowice architect
Woj-ciech Wojciechowski has drawn up the architectural plans for the quarter's streets. The plans take into consideration the development of 24 square meters, of which 10 thousand square meters are to
be designated for service facilities, 7 thousand for offices, and 5-4 thousand for apartments. The building of 190 underground parking places is also
foreseen there. According to Bronisław Miszta, the proxy for the company, these numbers are not going to be rigorously adhered to, because the extent of work on particular sectors in the region will be
dependent on the current needs.
The venture appears formidable. Today the Jainty, Webera and Kwietniewskiego Streets quarter is a cluster of decrepit tenement houses and run down additions
built onto them before WW II and in the 1960ťs. The most convenient solution would therefore be to tear down everything and put up new buildings in their place. . |
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This is impossible, however, because some of the tenement houses are under the protection of the Provincial historical conservator. So it has been decided that
seven tenements will be remodeled from the bottom up. This mainly concerns buildings along Kwietniewskiego Street, though the annexes located within them will be removedIn order to avoid complications, in February
of this year archeological work has been commissioned, which will last until May. Archeologists have provided valuable information on the layout of the downtown area at the turn of the 17th and 18th
centuries. They have found, among other things, fragments of the city walls, which will be reconstructed in the future construction on the site. Besides the archeological work, geological research of the
substratum is being carried out. Until the last minute, it was unclear if the land is suitable for construction of large buildings. Geologists drilled 25 boreholes to a depth of 11 meters in the quarter.
Rebuilding the quarter will depend on the specific orders received. One proposal consists of constructing a hotel, conference hall, and network of boutiques, restaurants and pubs there. "This location
is to be the most elegant part of the city, which is imposed by its downtown location. We would fancy stores to open there, something in the style of the shops found in within the walls of large shopping
malls. From our market research it is clear that this type of shops in the city center interests many sellers. Another important issue is the building of underground parking places, because it is obvious
that on the narrow city streets it is harder and harder to park your car. And at night it is not even recommended", says Bronisław Miszta.
The work on the quarter will begin in August of this year. The
first stage will consist of reconstructing Kwietniewskiego Street. If there are no financial obstacles, the work should be finished around 2004-2005. It would be ideal if the region regained its former splendor in
2004, the 750th anniversary of the city's gaining town charter. "We hope that the first of this kind of reconstruction will enliven the rebuilding plans for neighboring quarters, especially on the other side
of Kwietniewskiego and Webera Streets. In the second case, this will even be necessary because the purchase of these dilapidated tenements will find itself in the "grips" of our newly-restored quarter and the
market square," claims Bronisław Miszta.
The presentation on the modernization of the quarter for authorities and residents of Bytom took place on April 26 in the City Hall. |
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