The Karolina site, a former industrial area, lies in the center city of Ostrava, Czech Republic, just feet away from the city’s historic square. Its importance lies in the rarity of finding 150 acres of prime, undeveloped land in a prominent central city location—especially land that is available and suitable for development of local and regional importance. The size, location and potential use of the site adds to the area’s regional and interregional strengths, which include its designation as the Czech Republic’s third largest city (population 330,000), its closeness to Slovakia and Poland, and its base as the capital of a region with 1.2 million inhabitants.

The door to extending the city center was cracked open by the clearing of the former industrial area in 1988. In spite of the demolition, no development followed due to extreme ground contamination—the result of 150 years of heavy industrial use (blast furnaces, coke ovens, coal washing, power generation, chemical manufacture)—and the proximity of blast furnaces and coke ovens that were still in use in nearby Vítkovice. Also, there was an iron ore sinter plant and engineering shops close to the site. ...

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