Prague 3 welcomes the plan to create more apartments at the freight station

Prague - The district of Prague 3 welcomes the news that the new owner of the northern part of the freight station land in Žižkov, Central Group, intends to build apartments instead of a shopping center. It plans to continue negotiations regarding the construction of a kindergarten or school. This was stated today by Mayor Vladislava Hujová (TOP 09) to ČTK. The developer Central Group purchased the land from the British firm Discovery Group, the daily E15 reported. According to them, the transaction price exceeded one billion crowns.

The new investor has already contacted the district. "I received a letter from Central Group stating that they are the new owner of the northern part of the freight station. They announced that they no longer wish to build a large supermarket and that they want to focus primarily on residential construction," Hujová stated.

The district, along with the city’s Institute of Planning and Development, will begin negotiations with the new developer regarding the upcoming public competition for the freight station area. "We will negotiate to ensure that it is a project that does not burden traffic in Prague 3 as much as would have been the case with the enormous shopping center," the mayor added.

They also want to discuss public facilities, which according to the zoning plan, are to occupy about one-third of the area of the former freight station. The district has already negotiated with other investors to build a kindergarten, which Prague 3 will then operate. According to the mayor, this is mutually beneficial as the proximity of such services improves the saleability of apartments.

"In this case, we also plan to negotiate with the investors of the freight station, as well as those in the vicinity, to discuss how they would contribute to the construction of a new elementary school, kindergarten, or possibly a park or sports facility," Hujová said, adding that aside from projects at the freight station, Metrostav is building an additional 1,500 apartments in Vackov.

Unlike the plans of the British Discovery Group, which intended to build a shopping center on the site, Central Group wants to utilize the land primarily for residential construction. According to the E15 daily, the plot can accommodate more than 2,600 apartments, the construction of which will require over nine billion crowns. According to the newspaper, construction could start in a year.

The southern part of the Žižkov freight station, which includes a listed functionalist building, is owned by the company Žižkov Station Development. This is a joint venture between Czech Railways and the development firm Sekyra Group.

The future appearance of the listed Žižkov Freight Station will be determined by an architectural-urban competition. The city hall will cooperate with the Prague Institute of Planning and Development in preparing the competition. According to long-term plans, the extensive functionalist building is to be transformed into a cultural and educational center.