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

Plzeň - A year after the construction of the Ehrlich Palace began in the center of Plzeň, three underground and one above-ground floors have been completed. In the nine-story building, which was designed by architect Bořek Šípek and costs approximately a quarter of a billion crowns, the construction of 52 currently the most luxurious apartments in the city is planned to be completed by the end of the year, at the latest by February. The delay of the construction, which was supposed to be finished by August, is due to problems with the construction contractor who has been proposed for insolvency by his alleged creditors, said Michal Štěpánek, the owner of the investment company MICHAEL Development, to ČTK. The start of the construction was already postponed by nearly two years due to the approaches of banks and the owners of neighboring houses.
    "The owner of the construction firm Kočí Group is in a legal dispute with creditors because the insolvency proposal was suspicious. However, the company was unacceptable in the insolvency proposal for the banks, and credit for the builder was stalled," said Štěpánek. In order to expedite the project, the company handed over the construction to a new contractor, the Czech branch of the Slovak firm SWM Bohemia, which was recommended to the investor by reputable corporations, on April 17. "They have an exceptional track record of quality constructions, which is a prerequisite for our project. Moreover, they do not rely on subcontractors, but have their own most important professions," he added.
    The building is growing in one of the most attractive locations in Plzeň - in the park in Šafaříkových sady below the West Bohemian Museum. According to the investor and builder, thanks to Šípek, the house will have a "face" and its value will grow continuously. So far, clients have reserved 40 percent of the apartments, according to Štěpánek. Their price ranges from 37,000 to 60,000 crowns per square meter.
    "The rough construction will be completed in August. We have agreed with the clients that we will hand over the apartments by the end of the year, at the latest by the end of February 2013. If the contractor fails to meet this deadline, they will incur huge penalties," Štěpánek stated. According to SWM manager Jiří Kubelka, it is realistic to complete the building by the end of the year. There are 36 people working on site non-stop. SWM has built luxury houses in Russia, Germany, and France, as well as Office Park Butovice II and large villas near Prague, Brno, and Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
    According to Štěpánek, attractive and significant places are still selling well worldwide. "Interest in the apartments will increase as soon as the third and fourth floors are constructed. In two weeks, the first floor will be up, and subsequent floors will rise approximately every 14 days," he said. The builders were delayed by at least one month because the stone substrate was very hard, and water from the Radbuza was seeping through.
    On the seventh and eighth floors, there will be three largest duplex apartments including a residence of over two hundred square meters. Other apartments in the palace will range from 2+kk to 5+kk, all with terraces and balconies. The building with a higher standard of floors, plaster, doors, and windows will have a reception, sauna, shop, restaurant, and 90 parking spaces. The safety of the tenants will be monitored by cameras.