Praha 3 agrees to sign the contract for the redevelopment of the Žižkov railway station

Prague - The councilors of Prague 3 agreed to sign a contract with the development company Central Group for the construction of part of the freight station in Žižkov. This was reported to ČTK today by opposition councilor Ondřej Rut (SZ/Žižkov not just for myself). However, according to the opposition, the contract is disadvantageous for the city council and goes against the intention to create a conceptual study for the entire area. Therefore, the opposition wants an extraordinary council meeting. The city council's statement is being sought by ČTK. There have been disputes about the development of the area and the use of the functionalist building of the station for several years.

The councilors' decision enabled mayor Vladislava Hujová (TOP 09) to sign the contract - when and whether she will do so is currently unclear. "The contract is disadvantageous for the city district. It brings only one benefit, namely a six-class nursery school for 60 million crowns. However, the company's obligation arises only after the occupancy permit for the last building, while the city council has no idea what the company intends to build there," Rut told ČTK.

According to the city council, they do not have not only the blueprint but will also have to express consent to the company's actions. According to deputy mayor Petra Kolínská (SZ/Trojkoalice), this supports the so-called salami method of development. "Prague 3 will make a big mistake if it contracts itself to these steps without knowing the form of future development. The preparation of a territorial study for the entire area will bring instead of development through the salami method quality conceptual solutions," she stated. Kolínská has already requested in a letter that mayor Vladislava Hujová (TOP 09) not finalize the contract.

Central Group criticizes Kolínská's proposal. "The agreement with Central Group is a way out of the situation for the city district and Prague, given that a valid territorial decision has been issued for this area, which includes the construction of an undesirable business-commercial center and hotel. However, Central Group plans to significantly redesign the project it recently bought along with the land north of the Žižkov freight station, reduce the maximum height of the development, and significantly limit the traffic load," stated Dušan Kunovský, the chairman of the company's board, in a press release. "Residential functions should prevail with supplementary shops and restaurants on the ground floors of apartment buildings and plenty of greenery," he added.

Opposition councilors will seek to call for an extraordinary council meeting where they will urge the mayor to reconsider the procedure. "We have started collecting signatures, we need the consent of a third of the councilors; it is sufficient to collect signatures from our councilors for Žižkov not just for myself," said Rut.

Disputes over the development of the station have been ongoing for several years. Originally, the functionalist building along Jana Želivského Street was to be demolished, and the Olšanská Street was to be extended in its place. The building was eventually declared a monument. The city council, the magistrate, landowners, and others agreed to create a memorandum on a common approach in the preparation and realization of an urban competition and the preparation of a territorial study. However, according to Central Group, the company agreed on September 1 with Kolínská, the then-director of the Institute of Planning and Development Petr Hlaváček, and the mayor of Prague 3 that the architectural competition considered by the magistrate would not touch the area for which a territorial decision has already been issued.