The representatives of Kladno did not vote on the sale of land in the center

Kladno - Kladno has suspended the sale of lucrative land on Svobody Square in the city center, where a private investor wants to build a multifunctional building. However, the investor is unable to construct 300 parking spaces as part of the project and wants to acquire more land than initially anticipated. Increasing the number of parking spaces is one of the conditions for obtaining the land. Therefore, the city will announce the intention again. This was stated today by Mayor Dan Jiránek (ODS) to ČTK. Originally, the city council was supposed to vote on the purchase agreement today. The opposition has long criticized the sale of the land.
    In January, the council decided to sell the land in the city center, totaling 2,500 square meters, to a single interested party who wished to start building a multifunctional building with commercial spaces, apartments, or garages next year. The minimum price per square meter was set at 4,000 crowns, so the city was expected to receive over ten million from the sale. The sale of the land is also conditioned on the creation of at least 300 parking spaces in the square and about a third of the space being designated for public services.
    According to Jiránek, the investor is unable to meet these conditions because they reportedly cannot build that many parking spaces. As a result, they now want to purchase land in the center totaling nearly 3,500 square meters. "They requested a change, and the city council evaluated it as a significant change in contractual terms and decided to announce the intention again," explained Jiránek. The price per square meter will remain the same, according to the mayor. "We do not know if the applicant will accept (the new sale); if they do not agree, we will not sell it," added Jiránek.
    Opposition and some coalition council members objected that the city would unnecessarily relinquish the ability to decide about the future appearance and use of the land through the sale. Politicians argued that the city should first announce an urban planning and architectural competition to select the best project. However, they agreed that the area needs to be developed.
    The opposition party Volba pro Kladno has drafted a petition against the sale of the land, which its chairman Milan Volf submitted to the council today. Nearly 4,100 people signed the petition. Volf also stated that he has prompted the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the sale. "I believe this resolution could also be suspended," Volf said to journalists. He added that with the new announcement of the sale of the land, the city leadership is "extremely accommodating" to the investor.
    The sale of land and construction on Svobody Square in Kladno has been discussed at least since 1999. The council has rejected the sale of the land several times, for example, in 2007 when an investor wanted to build a residential and commercial center there.