Plzeň urged the investor of the controversial building to sell her the land

Plzeň - The Plzeň city council urged the investor of the controversial shopping center, which was rejected by the January referendum, to sell them the land under the demolished culture house. The city will oppose the construction, as mandated by the outcome of the citizens' vote. They have chosen a Prague law firm with experience in international arbitrations to assist them. CTK was informed today by Deputy Mayor Martin Zrzavecký (ČSSD), whose representatives were tasked as the city's negotiators with the investor, the Czech development company Amádeus.
     Plzeň residents decided in the referendum that the city should prevent the construction near the center, which is worth 2.5 billion crowns, "by all means." The investor will decide on the next steps only after the city hall publishes further actions.
     "We have already met with the chairman of the board of Amádeus. We informed them of our situation. They insisted that they want to continue with the project. They want us to clearly state whether we will sell them the peripheral land needed for construction," stated the deputy mayor. Previously, the city had sent the firm the council's verdict to hire a law firm and sent them a resolution from the council that canceled the intention to conclude a purchase agreement for the peripheral lands. Amádeus has these lands leased until June 30. Their lease cannot be terminated unilaterally, but only with the investor's consent.
     According to Zrzavecký, Amádeus keeps sending inquiries and the city responds to them. "We told them that we will decide within the ongoing zoning procedure when the right moment comes, but we will not inform them yet. It also depends, among other things, on how the court will decide this week regarding the lawsuit on the referendum, filed by four citizens of Plzeň," he said. According to Zrzavecký, it is expected that the city will oppose the construction in the zoning proceedings, as mandated by the referendum, and will provide further input on whether the investor has met the prescribed regulatory conditions of the planned construction.
     The city council also asked the head of Amádeus whether he is willing and under what conditions to sell the land under the culture house that was demolished last year. It is approximately 1.2 hectares. The surrounding vacant lands, approximately another area of 1.2 hectares, were not the subject of the referendum, according to Zrzavecký.
     The city hall is also on the verge of selecting the Prague law firm Mareš Partners, which has experience with international arbitrations. "We have our last meeting with them on Wednesday morning, and if we reach an agreement, we will immediately conclude the contract. They will receive a CD with all documents from 2007," said the deputy mayor.
     The group of lawyers will evaluate all previous steps and options for the city to avoid significant financial losses. They are to present their report by mid-March. Plzeň also wants the lawyers to clarify the terms "commercial facility" and "all means" that the city must undertake according to the referendum question, approved by the court, to prevent the construction. The firm should also assist the city in potential legal disputes with the investor in the future.
     Amádeus has already stated several times that it does not want to sell its land to the city. If it were ever to agree to do so, it would not be for the hundreds of millions of crowns estimated by the city council. Including the costs incurred so far and the wasted investment, it would demand billions of crowns from Plzeň. The investor is not considering reworking the project to a smaller facility for now.