Prague still does not know how it will acquire part of the Žižkov Freight Station building

Prague has still not decided whether it will buy part of the Žižkov Freight Station building, or whether it will establish a joint venture with Sekyra Group focused on its revitalization and transformation into a cultural and social center. Prague councilors decided today that the city should decide on the choice of one of the options by November 30, but that is only after the municipal elections, which take place on September 23 and 24. Prague previously considered the purchase of the entire building, several years ago it started negotiating co-ownership.

The building is owned by České dráhy, which in the past created a joint venture Žižkov Station Development with the development company Sekyra Group, which has a pre-emptive right to the station building. In the vicinity of the building, several development companies are planning to build a new district for up to 23,000 inhabitants.

The city has been discussing the property arrangement of the building for several years, but a final decision has not been made and it probably won't come to an election. Today's decision of the councilors gives the task to the deputy mayor and leader of the STAN candidate in Prague, Petr Hlaváček (for TOP 09) and councilor Jan Chabro (TOP 09), to present to the representatives by the end of November which way the city should go.

The joint venture variant would assume that the property relations between the capital city of Prague and Sekyra Group would be regulated by a shareholder agreement and bylaws of the new company, where the shares of the city and the company would be as balanced as possible. In the event of the purchase of part of the building, according to the document, the municipality could use the so-called negotiation procedure without publication, i.e. a procurement procedure without competition with only one participant, which would, however, presuppose the fulfillment of the legal conditions for such a procedure.

According to an earlier agreement, the functionalist station should house the headquarters of the National Film Archive, cultural and social spaces or a primary school. According to earlier information, Sekyra Group wants to build apartments and commercial spaces there.

The city originally considered running a tram through the center of the station, but ultimately decided to run north of it parallel to Malešická Street. The city is now preparing a change in the zoning plan, which is necessary for the planned construction of a large area where, in addition to the Sekyra Group, the companies Central Group and Penta Real Estate also want to build.

The fate of the station, which ceased to function in 2002, has been resolved for years. Originally, it was supposed to give way to construction, but after pressure from activists, the demolition was cancelled. Since 2013, the building has been a cultural monument.

Source: CTK