Plzeň will negotiate the settlement with the investor of the shopping center

Pilsen - Pilsen will continue negotiations with the company Amádeus Real on January 13 after a year regarding the settlement, which wanted to build a commercial complex near the center for 2.5 billion crowns. Due to allegedly changing attitudes of the city, the developer decided to terminate the project last January. In December, the company offered the city the sale of land covering 2.4 hectares and further stated in a letter that if the city hall does not begin negotiations with it immediately, it is prepared to file a lawsuit and will demand compensation of 1.9 billion crowns. Mayor Martin Zrzavecký (ČSSD) told ČTK this.
    "It was a tougher but correct letter from the law firm representing Amádeus. They wanted a meeting within seven days," he stated. The city lawyers, along with an external law firm, prepared a response in two days, in which the city denies any guilt. "We have caused nothing, we perceive no damage and do not want to pay anything," said the mayor, who expects a legal battle. He knows nothing about the developer filing a lawsuit against the city. "We want to act correctly. We are troubled that the land is in such poor condition. We would like a private developer to build on it. However, the owner of the land should respect the regulatory conditions that we approved in the council," he said.
    The requested amount, which Amádeus did not specify in detail, presumably includes the current costs of preparing the construction, lost profit, and money for the land that the developer owns. According to a verdict from the previous council, the city can offer a maximum of 270 million crowns for it, while the investor proposed 500 million crowns two years ago. Analyses prepared by two law firms showed that the city would need to have an approved use for the land by the council before any purchase.
    The Corso Americká shopping center, which the developer had been preparing for four years, rejected a referendum in January 2013. According to its results, the city hall must take all steps to prevent this construction on the site of the demolished cultural house. A month after the referendum results were announced, the city issued a negative opinion on the zoning procedure. It recommended that Amádeus revise the project. "One of the main steps we took after the referendum was the preparation of an urban-architectural competition, which outlined how the development of the area should look and that it must be intricate," said the mayor. It is the basis for a new zoning plan that will be established next year.
    "The reason for terminating the project is the uncertainty in the city's approach and the constantly changing attitudes towards the investment, which resulted in the halt of the zoning procedure," said Amádeus lawyer Jan Petřík a year ago. The developer and his foreign co-investor agreed that the project cannot be realized even in a modified form. "The city is on the best path through its approach to ensure that the gap left by the cultural house becomes one of the dominant features of Americká street for a long time," he added. The land is not utilized; part of it is a parking lot.