Prague still does not know how to acquire a part of the Žižkov Freight Station building

Prague - Prague has still not decided whether to purchase part of the Žižkov Freight Station building or to establish a joint venture with Sekyra Group focused on its revitalization and transformation into a cultural and community center. The city council of Prague concluded today that a decision should be made by November 30, which is after the municipal elections that will take place on September 23 and 24. Previously, Prague considered buying the entire building and had begun negotiations for co-ownership a few years ago.

The building is owned by Czech Railways, which previously formed a joint venture called Žižkov Station Development with Sekyra Group, which has a preemptive right to the station building. Several development companies are planning to build a new neighborhood for up to 23,000 residents around the building.

The city has been negotiating the property arrangement of the building for several years, but no definitive decision has been made and it probably won't be made before the elections. Today's decision tasks Deputy Mayor and STAN candidate leader in Prague Petr Hlaváček (from TOP 09) and councilor Jan Chabr (TOP 09) to present to the city council by the end of November which path the city should take.

Chabr stated today that acquiring at least part of the building is a condition for Prague 3 to support the approval of the planned change to the zoning plan for the entire large area of the station. He added that the decision on the option will likely come at the next council meeting, but should be made by the end of this year regarding the preparation of the change.

The joint venture option would assume that the property relations between the City of Prague and Sekyra Group would be regulated by a shareholders' agreement and the statutes of the new company, where the shares of the city and the company would be as balanced as possible. In the case of purchasing part of the building, the municipality could use a so-called negotiation procedure without publication according to the document, which is a procurement procedure without competition with only one participant, which would however require the fulfillment of legal conditions for such a process.

"The joint venture would manage the reconstruction, after which we would subsequently divide the building, with part retained by the contractual partner and part by the City," Chabr added. In the case of the second option, Sekyra Group itself would ensure the reconstruction, and the city would subsequently purchase a predetermined part of the property based on future contract agreements.

According to earlier agreements, the functionalist station was supposed to house the National Film Archive, cultural and social spaces, or an elementary school. Sekyra Group then wants to build apartments and commercial spaces there according to earlier information.

The city initially considered running a tram through the center of the station, but ultimately decided to run it north of it parallel to Malešická Street. The city is now preparing a change to the zoning plan, which is necessary for the planned development of the vast complex, where not only Sekyra Group but also Central Group and Penta Real Estate want to build.

The fate of the station, which ceased operations in 2002, has been dealt with for years. It was originally supposed to be demolished for construction, but due to pressure from activists, the demolition was dropped. Since 2013, the building has been a cultural monument.