The most suitable place for the new town hall building is Na Knížecí

Prague - The most suitable location for building a new seat for the Prague City Hall is a plot on Knížecí in Prague 5, on the site of the current bus terminal. This follows from an analysis of site assessments for a new location for the city hall, which was approved today by the Prague councilors. However, it has not yet been decided whether the city will build a new town hall. The analysis was commissioned by Prague due to the end of the lease of the Škodův Palace in 2028. The author of the analysis is the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR).

Experts evaluated several locations that could be considered for the placement of the new town hall. Based on this evaluation, the most favorable locations for the placement of the city hall were determined in this order: Knížecí, Florenc, Electric Company and Palace of Culture (now the Prague Congress Centre), as stated in the analysis.

In the case of Florenc and Electric Company in Holešovice, the main obstacle to construction is the insufficient floor area of the buildings. IPR excluded the Congress Centre among other reasons because it would require an expensive and extensive reconstruction, during which the building would be converted into administrative spaces.

"The most advantageous location appears to be Knížecí, which fulfills the set conditions very well... A public building in this location could also help shape a quality public space and contribute to creating a new identity for the urban district," states the analysis.

The potential construction of the city hall on Knížecí would thus "go hand in hand" with an extensive development plan by Sekyra Group, which intends to create a new center of Smíchov on the site of the Smíchov freight station. Office, commercial, and residential buildings, several public squares, and schools will be developed on an area of approximately 210,000 square meters. The current bus station is expected to be relocated towards Smíchov Station in the future.

According to Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO), the city is currently not considering buying the Škodův Palace from Copa Retail. "The purchase of the palace is out of the question, because we already know that this building is insufficient for the needs of the office," said Krnáčová. Besides the new building, Prague will also address the use of the building on Mariánské náměstí. "The operating costs are high and the quality of the environment is low, so we will address that," she said.

Prague officials are currently located in several places. A large portion of them are in the Škodův Palace on Jungmannova Street. However, this building does not belong to the city; it is only leased until 2028. In the past, the city filed two lawsuits against the owner, Copa Retail, due to allegedly overpriced rent, but was unsuccessful in court.