From brownfields to a new park and modern housing for Mníšek 

On the site of a former industrial complex at the confluence of the Jeřice stream and the Fojtka brook, a new residential neighborhood will be created, comprising 96 apartments in thirteen buildings for approximately 280 residents.

At the heart of the area will be a publicly accessible park along the Jeřice stream. The project will also include a sports ground, a children's playground, a new bridge, two footbridges, and spaces for shops and services. The park will expand opportunities for meeting, relaxation, and spending time together for both current Mníšek residents and new residents.

The project will offer a total of 96 apartments in thirteen buildings across three construction phases. Phase A comprises 48 apartments in six buildings, Phase B 12 apartments in two villas, and Phase C 36 apartments in five buildings.

The most common layout will be 3+kk, with 46 apartments in total. The project also includes 33 apartments with a 2+kk layout, 10 with 4+kk, and 7 with 1+kk. Ground-floor apartments will have front gardens, while top-floor apartments will have large terraces. All units will be approved for permanent residential use.

The architecture draws on the character of the Jizera Mountains foothills. It uses gable roofs, timber facades, muted colors, and a smaller scale for individual buildings.

Buildings in Phase A are designed on a plinth with a green roof and living floors raised above the surrounding terrain. Villas in Phase B are set into the slope and have terraces running the full width of the apartments. The thirteen smaller buildings are arranged so the project doesn't read as one large residential block, keeping the park, greenery and the flowing Jeřice as the main feature of the site.

The site will be open, with no fence. The publicly accessible park along the Jeřice, the new bridge, two footbridges, the sports ground and the children's playground will serve not only new residents but also current residents of Mníšek.

On the ground floor of the Phase C buildings, the project also provides for four retail/service spaces totaling approximately 171 m². These could include, for example, a small grocery store, a bakery, a café or restaurant, or sports facilities. The specific mix of businesses will be chosen based on what the locality is missing, in coordination with municipal representatives.

In 2020, residents took part in a survey on the future of the former industrial site, and the municipal council subsequently approved the intent for residential development in the locality. The municipality then also approved a change to the zoning plan enabling further development of the area.

The project design is being developed in dialogue and coordination with the municipality, nature and landscape conservation experts, and landscape architecture specialists.

The site has been connected with industry for centuries, from medieval mills through textile production and a spinning mill, an optical glass grinding works, and finally a chemical plant. After industrial production ended, the site remained unused for many years.

Today it is undergoing extensive remediation and transformation into a new residential neighborhood with a park and public space. We present the history in more detail in a separate section, Six Hundred Years of Work by the Water.

The site is owned by DEKONTA Mníšek s.r.o. The residential project is being developed by Arbol Real Estate, which is also behind other projects in the Krkonoše and Jizera Mountains.

Arbol Real Estate focuses, among other things, on brownfields, where it makes sense to bring already-used but now neglected or non-functional sites back to life instead of needlessly taking up more of the landscape.

The project's architect is the studio Marco Maio Architects, with whom Arbol Real Estate also collaborates on other projects.

The brief was to respect the character of the place and design a neighborhood that would naturally belong in the Jizera Mountains foothills. That's why the project uses gable roofs, timber facades, muted materials, and the scale of thirteen smaller buildings instead of a few large residential blocks.

We approach the remediation with maximum responsibility, to ensure that structural, technological and ecological remnants of the former industrial operation are removed and the site is prepared for future residential use.

The remediation includes complete demolition of the original buildings, environmentally sound removal of technological units, groundworks, soil sampling and remediation, hydrogeological surveys, and the revitalization of the banks of the Jeřice stream. The work follows the methodologies of the Ministry of the Environment, under expert geological and environmental supervision, and with oversight from the relevant state authorities, including the Regional Public Health Authority and the Czech Environmental Inspectorate.

The physical remediation work is now complete. Sampling and analysis follow, after which a final report will be prepared evaluating the success of the remediation and the resulting state of the site. We will gladly provide interested buyers with more detailed information on the course of the remediation, including available documentation and photo documentation.

Several specialized companies take part in the remediation, covering the individual parts of the process, from the remediation work itself through sampling and analysis to expert evaluation of the results.

We will gladly provide detailed information on the course of the remediation and the parties involved to interested buyers on request.

The project relies on heat pumps and heat recovery ventilation.

The specific technical solution will be provided to interested buyers as part of the detailed information on the particular unit.

Energy calculations are currently underway. Once they are completed and the final energy class of the buildings is determined, the specific figures will be published.

Parking for residents is designed mostly as covered parking within the plinths of the individual buildings, supplemented by outdoor parking spaces.

Traffic is routed around the perimeter of the site so that the central park remains a calm space free of through car traffic. The buildings will also include bike storage rooms and cellar storage units.

Mníšek lies right next to Liberec. The edge of the city is about 5 kilometers and 7 minutes away by car, and the center around 10 kilometers and approximately 13 to 15 minutes by car.

Mníšek has its own railway stop on the Liberec–Frýdlant line, and bus connections are also available.

The village also lies directly on the border of the Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area, so nature begins practically behind the house. The main tourist centers of the Jizera Mountains are easily accessible, for example Bedřichov is about 16 kilometers away.

The municipality has a primary school and kindergarten, a health center with a general practitioner, a pediatrician and a dentist, a post office, a grocery store, and a restaurant.

The Road and Motorway Directorate is preparing a new route for road I/13 between Krásná Studánka and Dětřichov, which is intended to divert a significant share of through traffic away from Mníšek. If preparations continue as planned, construction itself is expected to begin in 2028.

Mníšek lies at the foot of the Jizera Mountains, and part of its cadastral area extends into a protected landscape area. Nearby are the Fojtka and Mlýnice water reservoirs, the Pod Dračí skálou natural monument, and a range of hiking and cycling trails.

Bedřichov, Smědava, Jizerka and other well-known spots in the Jizera Mountains are all easily reachable by car or bike.

The project has already successfully completed the zoning plan change enabling residential construction, with an anticipated maximum of 280 residents in 96 housing units.

In autumn 2025, extensive demolition and site remediation began with the support of EU subsidies. The physical remediation work is now complete, ahead of the original schedule. Sampling and analysis follow, and then the final report will be prepared. At the same time, together with architects and designers, we are preparing the documentation needed for the building permit, building on the approved zoning study.

We expect the building permit to be issued by June 2027, with construction of the first phase starting in July 2027.