SoftServe is a Ukrainian IT company working in the field of software development and consulting services. The company's main offices are located in Austin, Texas and Lviv with over 8000 employees working in its European and American offices.
The purchase of the penal colony was the first example of the privatization of a regime facility in Ukraine. As of today, the legal process of the purchase and privatization of the facility has been officially completed and Development Engineering Service LLC has become its new owner.
"Distribution of proceeds based on the principle 30/70: 30% goes to the state budget and 70% — to restore prison infrastructure. There are plans to build a new detention facility in Lviv with the money received from the sale of the 48th colony," Zaxid.net said.
"In 2021, the state budget will receive 1 billion hryvnyas from the program 'Big Prison Sale'," the head of the FGIU, Dmytro Sennichenko, said.
SoftServe plans to build a large-scale creative campus on the 10-hectare site.
"We at SoftServe have been nurturing the idea of a large-scale campus for a very long time and finally we have a specific area where we can implement this idea. The space that will appear here will be created not only for our company. First of all, it will be an object for the city and the citizens of Lviv — a creative campus with futuristic architecture, public space and educational content," said SoftServe co-founder and board member Oleh Denys.
According to preliminary plans, the SoftServe campus will include modern offices, corporate university premises, conference and exhibition spaces, a science and technology museum, an English-speaking school and kindergarten, residential facilities, public space with a green area.
Work on the project is scheduled to begin next year. According to the preliminary estimates, its implementation will last 5-6 years. The volume of investments in the project will exceed $100 mln.
The 48th Colony was built in 1946. At first, it operated as a children's correctional center, and in 1958 it was converted into an adult colony. As of February 2018, the institution ceased to function, and inmates were transferred to other correctional facilities.
Previously, we wrote about SoftServe is Going to Invest $50 Million in a Colony-Based Office in Lviv.
