The owner wants to demolish the villa in Prague 5, locals and the city hall criticize it

Prague – The owner of a historic villa located at the Smíchov foot of Petřín plans to demolish it, a move that has already been approved by the building authority of Prague 5. A petition has been launched against the intention to replace the villa with a larger building, and the municipal district has criticized the plan, stating that it unsuccessfully submitted objections during the construction proceedings, according to Deputy Mayor Radek Janoušek (Prague 5 Sobě). While they did not file an appeal against the issued permit, they want to negotiate with the investor. Deník N highlighted the case today.

The petition against the demolition of the villa, which is located in a heritage zone, has so far been supported by about 1500 people online. The plan is not favored by the municipal leadership either. "We particularly disputed that the building alterations and completion of the villa Tichá 6 would result in an inappropriate change to the building that would not correspond to the character of the villa district," Janoušek stated.

However, the municipal district was unsuccessful in its objections during the construction proceedings, according to Janoušek, partly due to the positive stance of the municipal heritage office and the absence of objections from neighbors, despite the fact that they were informed in advance about the planned intention according to available information from the municipality.

The municipality did not file an appeal against the issued decision, based on previous experiences in similar situations, according to the deputy mayor. "We do not give up our active role and are ready to hold negotiations with the investor about possible changes to the plan," he conveyed.

He added that recently there was a meeting with architects representing the villa's owner, who is not known, about the construction of a walkway connection from Holečkova Street to Kinský Garden. "This intention is in line with the strategy of the municipal district and will lead to an improvement in pedestrian permeability between the key park areas of Prague 5 (Sacre Coeur Park and Kinský Garden)," he concluded, stating that the owner would build the public connection on his own land.

This is not the first similar case in Prague 5. The year before last, similar resistance arose against the plan for the demolition of a villa from the early 20th century on Nad Výšinkou Street, which was then owned by Valérie Haščáková, the wife of the co-owner of the investment group Penta, Jaroslav Haščák. After intense criticism of the demolition from local residents and politicians, the villa changed owners three times and ultimately ended up in the possession of the investment group Rockaway Capital, and it still stands.