Praha 7 rejects the Stromovka Palace project, the case is heading to court

Prague - The leadership of Prague 7 disapproves of the planned form of the commercial and administrative Palace Stromovka. According to the municipality, the current project of the investor, the company Holešovický trojúhelník belonging to the British group Lordship, does not comply with the lease contract. This was announced by the mayor of Prague 7, Jan Čižinský. Lordship is now threatening the city hall with an arbitration claim worth up to a billion in case of termination of the lease agreement, and Prague 7 with a ten million fine.
    "The land is ours and the tenant is not fulfilling the lease," Čižinský said. The agreement was supposed to be that not only commercial spaces would be created in the center but also apartments, a town hall, and a memorial. The palace is to be built on land where Jews were gathered for deportations during World War II. "However, the tenant has no intention of fulfilling this," the mayor pointed out.
    According to Martin Pilka, a member of the board of Lordship, the investor has a valid zoning decision for the entire project and a definitive building permit for the construction of underground garages. "The building permit for the above-ground part of the building, which includes, among other things, a supermarket and services necessary for the residents of the nearby area, is under appeal," Pilka stated. However, according to him, Prague 7 is trying to interrupt the appeals project. Holešovický trojúhelník has called on the district to withdraw its proposal to interrupt the appeals process by February 16, otherwise it will demand a fine of ten million crowns.
    However, the investor will likely ask for much more money in the end. For example, in the case of termination of the lease for the land under the project, it could be up to one billion crowns, according to Pilka. "Given that the project is funded from foreign sources, international arbitration cannot be ruled out," added the representative of the investor.
    Lordship has been renting the land from Prague 7 since 2002. Since then, it has paid more than 50 million crowns for it.