Sekyra Group has started the construction of another part of the new district in Prague's Smíchov

Prague – The development company Sekyra Group has started construction on the southern part of a new district on parcels around the former Smíchov freight railway station in Prague. Representatives of the investor, the state, the capital city, and Česká spořitelna, which will have a new headquarters in the district, informed reporters about this today. In addition to the headquarters, the southern part of the district, named Smíchov City by the developer, will include three more administrative buildings and a hotel. The company began the construction of the entire project in 2020, which will cost 35 billion crowns, with an additional 15 billion crowns for public investments.

The first part of the project, consisting mostly of residential buildings around the Na Knížecí bus terminal, has already been completed by the company. "After the successful completion of the first residential phase, our attention shifts to the area around the Smíchov terminal, where the most extensive of the four phases of the project will be created," said Luděk Sekyra, chairman of the board of Sekyra Group, today. He added that the phase currently underway should be finished in three to four years.

The centerpiece of the southern part of the district will be the campus of Česká spořitelna, which, according to the bank's CEO Tomáš Salomon, should be as open to the public as possible. It will consist of four buildings with an area of about 75,000 square meters, connected by a boulevard that links the Smíchov station with the Na Knížecí area, named after Madeleine Albright. Other streets and public spaces in the district will also bear female names.

Sekyra Group is also preparing the construction of four other residential blocks with 800 apartments in the northern part of the project, which is expected to start at the turn of this year and next. The last, fourth part of the construction will adjoin Radlická Street. The entire district is expected to be completed by Sekyra in 2032.

The project is also associated with extensive public investments that the state and the capital city are carrying out or preparing in the area. The state is investing five billion crowns into the railway hub at the Smíchov station, with work already underway. Minister of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS) said today that railway hubs are becoming important centers in modern metropolises where people work or spend their free time, which is also the goal in Smíchov.

The Prague City Hall plans to add another floor above the station, where it intends to relocate the Na Knížecí bus station. The project will also include a P+R parking facility. The start of construction is expected at the end of next year and is projected to last five to seven years.

A primary school will also be established in the new district, which is being prepared by the Prague 5 municipality. It previously faced difficulties negotiating funding for the construction with the city hall due to high costs, but according to Mayor Radka Šimková (Praha 5 Sobě), both sides are currently nearing an agreement. The representatives of the city hall have preliminarily agreed, according to the mayor, that they will take over and pay for the construction, and will also contribute to the municipality for the construction of another primary school in Košíře.

In exchange, the municipality would hand over two educational buildings currently occupied by private universities, whose leases are expiring, to the main city. The city hall would use the buildings to establish high schools to address the shortage of places.