Companies and institutions are moving from the center of Prague to the outskirts of the metropolis

Prague - Companies and state institutions are increasingly moving from buildings in the center of Prague to new headquarters further from the city center. Some have commissioned their own buildings, while others are opting for rentals. New headquarters are generally located near metro stations or major transport routes, according to findings from ČTK.
    At the beginning of July, a construction savings bank and the Wüstenrot insurance company plan to move under one roof into a new office complex in Kavčí Hory. "Currently, we are located in three buildings in Prague's Smíchov, and by consolidating all employees into one building, we will streamline our operation," said Wüstenrot board member Pavel Pektor.
    "In connection with the move to the new building in Kavčí Hory, there is consideration of selling the buildings in Prague's Smíchov that Wüstenrot owns," added another board member of the savings bank, Ivo Sebera.
    A similar change is planned by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This year, it intends to offer its 11 buildings in the center of Prague to development companies in exchange for a new central headquarters on the outskirts of the city for about a thousand officials from the ministry's subordinate organizations. Minister Martin Říman previously stated that the state treasury should obtain more for the current office buildings than the cost of the new construction.
    Among the most notable cases where a company has commissioned a new headquarters for itself is ČSOB. The bank sold properties in the center of Prague for 3.2 billion crowns, with the new headquarters built by Skanska in Prague's Radlice costing it 2.7 billion. It moved in last April.
    The ČSOB building, which is considered one of the most environmentally friendly in all of Europe by some assessments, has a total area of 82,000 square meters. This is roughly equivalent to a third of Wenceslas Square.
    The acquisition of a new building for the Czech Statistical Office in Strašnice cost over 829 million crowns from the state budget in 2004. By selling the original headquarters in Karlín, statisticians later raised 371 million.
    Some companies are just changing one rental for another. This is the case for T-Mobile, which moved from a rented headquarters in the heart of the city to a rental near the Roztyly metro station.
    The construction company Skanska is planning to move from its own headquarters to a rental. At the end of this year, it will change its address from Kubánské náměstí to Opatov Park in Prague 11. Opatov Park is being built by the development company Sekyra Group.
    "Our previous three separate buildings in different locations in Prague no longer met the requirements for a modern working environment and did not allow for efficient renovation," said Skanska's CEO Zdeněk Burda earlier. Skanska will offer its current buildings for sale.