In Pilsen, a referendum has begun on the construction of a huge building in the city center

Plzeň - A local referendum on a controversial construction of a giant shopping center in the city center began today in Plzeň at 14:00. The court decided on its hold during both days of the first round of presidential elections after it was rejected by city councilors. Residents of Plzeň are voting mostly in buildings where there are rooms for voting for the president. If the majority says "yes," the city will have to use all legal means to prevent the construction. If the result is "no," the investor plans to start building the complex next year for 2.5 billion crowns. Activists from the referendum preparatory committee and the investor both assert that they will win, according to ČTK. Nevertheless, both sides agree that the public vote will have consequences in administrative court.
    The multifunctional Corso Americká building is set to rise on the site of the cultural center demolished last year, located between the department store and Denisovo nábřeží. The Czech firm Amádeus, with a German financing bank backing it, hopes to open it in 2015. The investor promised to allocate most of the work to local companies. It will have 90 establishments and employ nearly 1,000 people. In addition to shops, there will be offices, apartments and spaces for services and leisure, a large fan shop for FC Viktoria, 520 parking spaces, and the street lining Americká třída, which is planned to be closed to cars, will become a boulevard; Corso is supposed to be connected to the neighboring polyclinic. Amádeus reportedly already has reservation contracts with 70 percent of tenants.
    Opponents, who collected nearly 20,000 signatures for the referendum, argue that the multi-story complex will cause failures for small traders in the center, traffic jams, more noise and dust, and disagree with its size of 35,000 m², which is equivalent to nearly ten Plzeň cathedrals. According to Martin Marek, the representative of the referendum preparatory committee, the citizens of Plzeň will decide for the first time about the face of part of the city through public voting and will also influence the future approach of the city hall to the regulation of valuable territories.
    The city says that if the building could not be constructed, it would have to buy the three-hectare plot from the investor for an estimated 263 million crowns, which would require taking a loan and jeopardize a number of investments, making it impossible to support public benefit organizations including services. Amádeus, as the owner of the three-hectare plot, is not considering selling it. If it ever does, it would be "for billions of crowns" including already spent costs of 330 million crowns and wasted investments. However, according to activists, the city would not throw this money out the window but would acquire free land in the center. According to Jan Petřík from Amádeus, the construction site would be left unused for a long time. Another referendum on the use of this area could not take place for at least two years.
    According to the law, the plebiscite will be valid if at least 35 percent of adult citizens of Plzeň participate. The result will be binding if more than half of the voters support it, which must also correspond to at least 25 percent of all voters, approximately 33,000 people.
    Discussions about the shopping center at the site of the cultural center have been ongoing since 2007. Two years later, Amádeus submitted a study. However, the city did not provide any conditions at that time and canceled the competition for the architectural design of the area. The investor has obtained EIA approval (Environmental Impact Assessment) and spatial proceedings are ongoing, which the city hall requested to interrupt during the referendum. This year, they want to obtain construction permits and start building next year.