At the Vyšehrad railway station, there will be shops and apartments, and residential buildings will be built nearby

Prague - The new owner of the dilapidated building of the former Vyšehrad railway station in Prague 2 plans to reconstruct the building in its original form, with shops and services in the lower part and apartments above. On both sides, buildings with small apartments will rise. Hanka Hejsková, the media representative of Karlin Port Real Estate, which purchased the monument, informed ČTK about this today. The project's architect, Ivo Nahálka, told ČTK that he has been working on the project for nearly two years and it has been pre-negotiated with the heritage conservationists. Previous plans by former owners have failed mainly due to the monument protection of the railway station.

The new owner acquired the early 20th-century building in recent months from an officially unknown owner who owned it through a company registered in Cyprus. The heritage-protected object was sold by Czech Railways in 2007; the station ceased operations there in 1960. Various investors planned to reconstruct the object, but they never managed to push through the renovations with the heritage authorities, leading to the prolonged deterioration of the building.

"The use will be multifunctional; on part of the area, we will introduce a sophisticated project of so-called micro-apartments in a form that is currently not available in the Czech Republic. Overall, the costs will be around 700 million crowns," said Milorad Miško Miškovič, founder and managing partner of Karlin Port Real Estate. The apartments that he plans to construct in the railway station building and on surrounding plots will be included in his investment fund, Opportunity Real Estate Fund SICAV. He is collaborating on the project with the investment group Aristo.

The plan includes approximately 170 small apartments and studios with an area ranging from 20 to 43 square meters, with most units not exceeding 25 square meters. According to Nahálka, the reconstruction of the railway station will aim to retain its original form as much as possible. The apartments in the upper part of the building, according to him, will be created in the attic and in the spaces where offices once were.

According to the investors' plan, new buildings with apartments will rise on both sides of the monument, which will be connected to the former station by a glass passage at street level. It will be possible to pass through the connected buildings to the other side towards the railway tracks, where another passage will be located. There will be parking garages underground. The concept of the so-called micro-apartments is designed to offer residents a range of services, including shared spaces like a laundry room, gym, or community room.

"We will prepare rescue works shortly," Nahálka said, referring to the poor condition of the building. A few years ago, the roof of the station started to cave in, necessitating the closure of the adjacent sidewalk for safety reasons. The new owner purchased the site along with the original project, which the former owner failed to pass with the heritage authorities. "We will be building on the original intent in the form of a change in the building permit, but it will essentially be a new project," the architect explained.

He added that his studio has been working on the project for almost two years. "We have it pre-negotiated with the heritage authorities and there should be no problem in this regard," he stated. Miškovič added that Nahálka's team specializes in the rescue of historical buildings and has previously collaborated with him on two administrative projects in Karlín.