The highest residential building, Prague's Residence Eliška, has been approved for occupancy

Prague - The construction of the residential building Residence Eliška in Prague's Vysočany, which is the tallest purely residential building in the Czech Republic at 93.6 meters, has been approved for use. The investor, which is the real estate and auction agency Gaudí, reported this on the project's website. The most expensive Czech bicycle path, which runs right next to the reception, is also fully accessible.
    "The occupancy inspection of the residential building Residence Eliška was successfully completed, and on December 9, 2013, the Building Authority of the Prague 9 District issued an occupancy permit for the use of the building," the investor states on the website.
    The Residence at the intersection of Freyova and Ocelářská streets has 25 above-ground floors. Its unusual height is partly the result of negotiations with the Prague 9 district, which wanted to create a landmark in the area. This is intended to visually compensate for the vastness of the nearby O2 Arena.
    Out of 282 apartments, only nine remain available, including the most luxurious penthouse with a floor area of more than 300 m² and several terraces totaling 80 square meters on the top 25th floor.
    Construction began in October 2011 and is expected to finish this October or November. The building will include a parking lot for 130 cars, 99 garages in the basement, a fitness center, a café, a 24-hour reception, and additional services, including a hair salon. The residential building was constructed by Metrostav.
    The investor also attracted potential buyers with the bicycle path that runs very close to the reception. It is infamously known as the most expensive construction of its kind in the Czech Republic. The nearly 3.5 kilometers cost more than 140 million crowns. The city council justified the high price by the technical demands of the construction and the need to build four new bridges.
    Although the construction of the bike path began in 2008 and ended in 2010, it did not serve cyclists for a very long distance. Part of it runs on the private property of the Residence Eliška investor, who fenced off this approximately fifty-meter section again during the construction of the residential building in accordance with an agreement with the city for safety reasons. Therefore, cyclists and rollerbladers had to dismount after the new bridge across Ocelářská Street, walk several dozen meters, and climb back up to the bike path via other stairs. Now they do not have to, as the bike path has been open for several days again around the residential building.
    The absolute height record among domestic buildings has been held since this April by the Brno AZ Tower, which stands at 111 meters. It surpassed the previous tallest office building, City Tower in Prague's Pankrác, by two meters. In the future, Residence Eliška will also be surpassed by the Epoque Pankrác residential building, which is invested by PSJ Invest, which received a zoning decision at the end of November. The thirty-story building with 140 apartments is expected to rise up to 104 meters.