In Pilsen, 52 luxury apartments are being created in the Ehrlich Palace

Plzeň - In the center of Plzeň, the construction of a new architectural landmark of the city has begun today - the Ehrlich Palace, designed by the world-renowned Czech architect Bořek Šípek. The nine-story building, costing a quarter of a billion crowns, will feature a total of 52 currently most luxurious apartments in the city, as well as shops and restaurants, to be completed by June 2010. The building will be located in the most attractive spot in Plzeň, in the Šafařík Gardens Park, said Michal Štěpánek, owner of the investment company MICHAEL Development, to ČTK.
    The price of luxury apartments, which according to Štěpánek are greatly lacking in Plzeň, will range from 45,000 to 65,000 CZK/m². "Half of the apartments have already been sold, mainly to prominent Plzeň businesspeople and partially to residents of Prague," he added. According to Štěpánek, the developer and investor are not afraid of the financial crisis. "I consider it a media bubble. Those 52 people will always be found because this is the only such place in Plzeň," he added.
    The project is about a year behind schedule due to objections regarding the size of the land and the building, primarily from the owners of 50 apartments in the neighboring building on Anglické nábřeží. The developer eventually reached an agreement with everyone. "The building permit was issued yesterday," said Petr Linhart, a member of the board of the Plzeň Project Studio (PPA), which is the project's investor and has contributed the land in the gap. Its neighboring office building will undergo a significant renovation, which will cost over 50 million crowns.
    On the top seventh and eighth floors, there will be three largest duplex apartments, including a 200-square-meter residence. Other apartments in the palace will range from 2+kk to 5+kk up to 120 m², all with terraces and balconies. The palace will feature a reception with 24-hour service, a sauna, a shop, and a restaurant, with 56 parking spaces in the underground. Security for the tenants will be ensured by cameras. "No one will get into the building without their consent," Linhart said. The corridors will be made of granite, and there will be a higher standard of floors, plaster, doors, and windows.
    The neighboring administrative building opposite the Continental Hotel will be preserved. It is currently undergoing a major reconstruction. By the end of May 2009, over 2000 m² of space for shops and offices will be created there. The PPA will also be located there. "We have it almost fully occupied," Linhart said.
    MICHAEL Development specializes in the construction of luxury housing in the most attractive locations in the Czech Republic, such as Prague and Špindlerův Mlýn, and has also built residential buildings in Florida. The projects are always designed by leading Czech architects. "In the center of Plzeň, we are preparing two more sites for similar housing, one of the same size and the other with more apartments,” said Štěpánek. The next project will be villa houses by the České údolí dam.