Lordship: The agreement on the Stromovka Palace must be reached by July

Prague - The agreement on the construction of the Stromovka Palace in Prague 7 between the investor, Lordship, and the municipality must be completed by July. If this does not happen, Lordship cannot guarantee the construction of the center. This was stated today by the head of the company, Václav Matoušek, to reporters. The Czech News Agency is seeking a statement from Prague 7, which has reservations about the project.

The chairman of the company’s board, Jonathan Jackson, stated in a pre-recorded video at the press conference that the company wants to reach an agreement with the municipality by June. If this does not happen, there is a risk of turning to the court.

Matoušek said that the company is monitoring the constructed excavation between Veletržní and Strojnická streets and that residents of the surrounding buildings are not in danger. "There is no immediate danger. We are monitoring and guarding the pit,” he stated.

According to him, however, it is necessary to start construction. If securing the pit were to be long-term, it would need to be stabilized. "However, this would not be without impact on the surrounding area of the pit, both in terms of traffic and the relocation of utility networks," he said. He added that, for example, the legislative life of the anchors securing the excavation expired last year.

Prague 7, which owns the land under the planned construction, has numerous reservations about the project. According to them, the center should not only include commercial spaces but also apartments and a memorial. The company is also said to violate the terms of the lease agreement it has with the municipality. According to Matoušek, the municipality also criticized the appearance of the façade to Lordship. He also stated that the creation of apartments in the building was prohibited by health officials.

Prague 7 signed a lease agreement for the land in 2002 with the company SEN Development. In 2006, the project was purchased by the British Lordship. The Stromovka Gallery has a valid building permit for the construction of garages as well as for the above-ground part of the project. Lordship has been renting the land from Prague 7 since 2002. The contract is concluded for 105 years, after which the construction will pass into the ownership of the municipality. The city receives five million crowns annually for the land.