Penta has started the demolition of the former customs house at Masaryk Railway Station

Prague - The investment company Penta has started the demolition of the former customs house at Prague's Masaryk Station. The demolition is related to the planned construction of administrative buildings. CTK was informed about this by the company's spokesperson Martin Danko. According to Czech Railways, this is a facility that the transport company has not used for a long time.
    "This is related to the preparation of the Masaryčka area development, it is the first step and others are to follow," Danko stated. However, he indicated that the subsequent adjustments should not be carried out by Penta, but by the Railway Infrastructure Administration, which is responsible for the station's rail yard. Currently, according to Danko, the building was serving as a storage facility, and Czech Railways, which owns the building, agreed to its demolition.
    The actual sale of railway land, on which the ambitious construction depends, has not yet been agreed upon. The main obstacle is disputes over the price that Czech Railways may demand from the investment company and which is regulated by a contract from 2003.
    Due to the planned construction at Masaryk Station, the company Masaryk Station Development was formed, in which the railways own about 34 percent and Penta holds the majority. According to the contract, Penta also has a right of first refusal on the land that Czech Railways consider unnecessary and wish to sell.
    In the middle of this year, Penta indicated that it was interested in purchasing approximately 15,000 square meters of land for about 400 million crowns. The price calculation is based on the 2003 contract, which set the price at 7,200 crowns per square meter for future office and retail space.
    In September, Transport Minister Antonín Prachař got involved in the negotiations, demanding that the transport company's management re-examine the contracts and conditions under which the state enterprise would provide the parcels. There is no agreement on whether the agreed price is favorable for the state railways. However, the parameters agreed upon in the contract are, according to previous statements from management, practically impossible to change.
     Construction is expected to take place in three locations around the station. The first block of buildings, according to Penta's plans, is to be built on Na Florenci Street across from the Florentinum shopping center, which the company constructed last year. This is where the demolished building is located. The second block is planned to be built between the main road and the bus station, and the third part is an area of land near Hybernská Street, part of which belongs to Czech Post.