The magistrate interrupted the proceedings regarding the PPF construction at Vítězné náměstí

Prague - The Prague magistrate has suspended the appellate proceedings concerning the zoning decision for the construction of the multifunctional building Line at Vítězné náměstí in Prague 6. The construction department will not conclude the proceedings until the court resolves the lawsuit filed against the size of the planned building. This was reported by ČTK, which learned this from the official bulletin of the municipal district and from websites where some residents express their opinions on events in Prague 6. According to the opposition, this reopening leads to a debate about whether the building should be erected in the square at all. The investor, which is the joint-stock company Vítězné náměstí belonging to the PPF Real Estate group, did not want to comment on the decision.
The design of the administrative building by architect Radan Hubička has generated mixed reactions from the public and experts from the beginning, as is regularly the case with unconventional architecture. There have been heated debates about the construction at the Dejvice town hall. Opponents of the project complained about the bias of the town hall's leadership. The opposition and civic associations criticized the coalition for past decisions regarding the municipal land, on which the town hall decided to build a commercial building in cooperation with a private investor instead of the previously planned town hall building. Prague 6 eventually withdrew from participating in the Line project. However, the investor retained the preemptive right to the land.
Discussions about whether the investor will receive permission to build, which will fundamentally change the character of the square, have been ongoing for several months. The company Vítězné náměstí obtained the zoning decision for the Line project at the end of last year. The participants in the proceedings appealed. Some also turned to the court with a lawsuit. Therefore, the magistrate's officials halted the decision-making process regarding the appeal.
"We are familiarizing ourselves with the decision, so we will not provide a comment for now," said Radek Stavěl, the spokesperson for the investor, in response to ČTK's inquiry. "We welcome the magistrate's decision," said opposition representative Petra Kolínská (SZ). "Thanks to the joint efforts of opposition representatives, local residents, and civic initiatives, it is still realistic to build an object on the municipal land that will benefit the residents and respect the urban development of Vítězné náměstí," claimed the representative.
The building, which people have begun to nickname the Ice Bear, is meant to complete the currently open block of houses at Vítězné náměstí. The investor claims that alongside administrative spaces, the construction will bring new civic amenities, including plans for a café, smaller shops, and other services. Last year, the project was awarded as the best architectural project in the prestigious Building of the Year competition.