Czech museum progress seen in Roundhouse work

Plans for the relocated National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and its addition are still on paper, but one sign of progress is concrete.

Walls from the Riverside Roundhouse have quickly been removed in preparation to dismantle the building and make way for the museum.

“We don't dillydally,” said Alex Andersen, owner of Ernie's Avenue Tavern, 69 16th Ave. SW, who is leading the Czech Village Association committee to save the roundhouse.

Much of the work on the building has been done by Andersen and a small group of volunteer union members in the last two weeks. The structure itself could be moved within another two weeks, he said.

A longtime fixture in Czech Village, the roundhouse was used for farmers markets from the time it was built for that purpose in 1962 until 2007.

The Czech Village Association hopes to relocate the building to 17th Avenue and B Street SW, where flood-damaged homes are slated for demolition.

Andersen said the group is looking for donations that will be needed during rebuilding for bathrooms, a kitchen and more inside the structure. He hopes some of the mitigation funds for historic properties might go to the roundhouse.

The building was flooded along with the museum and the rest of Czech Village in 2008. This month, the City Council proposed to redirect about $160,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding from roundhouse repair to a proposed farmers market across the Cedar River.

The roundhouse site needs to be cleared by May 11 so site work can begin for the museum.

About 40 people attended a meeting last night to discuss the museum's progress. Feedback was solicited on the exterior design and site and floor plans.

Nearly 80 spaces are planned for parking under the building and addition, which will be elevated 3 feet above the 2008 flood level to 11 feet high.

The city's trail system is expected to connect along the site's riverfront.

Plans call for a larger kitchen, outdoor terraces for events, 7,500 square feet of permanent exhibition space, and 1,000- and 2,000-square-foot galleries for traveling exhibits.

The current museum, 30 16th Ave. SW, is on track to be relocated to the roundhouse site this fall or next spring, with the new complex expected to open in late 2012.