Projects within the framework of the city's model revitalization are being weighed on the workers' colony in Starachowice . Buildings are being repaired, sheltered and communal housing created, squares renovated. However, the focus of the city authorities remains on the residents, their activities and relationships.
ambitious plans
photo: ProvincialPublic Library in Kielce
Kolonia Robotnicza consists of 16 pre-war multi-family buildings, whose technical condition has deteriorated over the years. Erected between 1922 and 1924, the houses are the aftermath of an unrealized 1920 competition project by Henryk Stifelman. The urban design of the then-designed colony combined elements of axial Baroque assumptions with solutions that took into account the topographical arrangements of the mountainous terrain. In addition to houses, the settlement was to house the Starachowice town hall, a department store, a people's house, a workers' club, schools and a church, and even a cemetery. However, these plans were too ambitious for the just expanding city. In the form of the completed colony, however, some solutions from Stifelman's design were retained; the company's design office was ultimately responsible for the construction.
transformations
photo: UM Starachowice
The 16 multi-family buildings are located on a hill with a beautiful view of the Pasternik reservoir and the surrounding area. Before the war the buildings were owned by the Starachowice Works, over the years the ownership rights have changed. Some of the premises were bought by private owners and became the property of housing communities, 10 of them belong to the Starachowice Municipality. As the city's mayor Marek Materek stresses, officials were keen to improve the conditions in which people who rent social housing from the municipality live, but also to significantly change the image of this housing estate. As part of the ongoing measures, residential buildings are undergoing major renovations - roofs and installations, connections and equipment are being replaced. Coal stoves will be replaced with central heating, and the interiors of the buildings will be brought up to modern standards and fire safety requirements.
model revitalization
photo: UM Starachowice
The changes taking place in the Wzgórze neighborhood are part of a wide-ranging revitalization effort in Starachowice, which was one of twenty towns that participated in the Model Urban Revitalization program. Its purpose was to popularize revitalization processes and develop models for carrying it out in urban areas. The revitalization of the city of Starachowice is a huge project covering not only the Hill estate, but also the City Park, the Pasternik reservoir, the area of Starachowice Dolne and other parts of the city. The city, as one of 20 cities in the country, has obtained funds from the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy for the preparation of the documentation necessary for the planned investments.
common space
City Park in Starachowice
photo: Marek Materek - facebook
In addition to the residential buildings themselves, common spaces will also undergo a metamorphosis. The square located between Zakładowa Street and 1 Maja Street, the garden in front of the Culture Park, which is currently under construction, has changed its face. Next up is Starachowice Dolne, where a Communication Center will be built.
Photo: UM Starachowice
The railway station building has been revitalized, thanks to the Agawa social cooperative, which runs the Miś milk bar. The cleaning of the Pasternik reservoir is underway, and the development of the northern shoreline and the construction of a bridge over the Kamienna River will begin shortly. Other plans include a comprehensive renovation of the Culture Park building itself. Work has ended in the space of the City Park, renovated on the basis of a competition design by the eM4 studio. BRATANIEC ARCHITECTURE STUDIO.
an apartment for everyone
In addition to upgrading the quality of public housing, four sheltered apartments and a community center will also appear on the Hill estate . The protected apartments will be intended for, among other things: victims of domestic violence or young people becoming independent after leaving, for example, family orphanages. Starachowice officials stress that the most important thing in the revitalization process is the residents, their expectations, needs and ambitions.
Revitalization is aimed at improving the quality of life for residents of the most neglected parts of the city, and in a broader sense it is supposed to lead to the stimulation of social activity, economic development, restoration of dilapidated buildings, development of neglected spaces and a change in the image of the entire city. This is a significant qualitative change compared to activities carried out over the years throughout Poland, where cemeteries, roads or concreted markets were renovated under the slogan of revitalization.
Culture Park
photo: Marek Materek - facebook
