Amádeus Real will build a shopping center worth 1.2 billion CZK inside Plzeň

Plzeň - A new shopping and social center named Aréna worth 1.2 billion crowns will be built by 2013 in the center of Plzeň, between Americká třída and Denisova nábřeží, on the site of the current cultural house and marketplace next to Tesco. The investor of the building with a sales area of 35,000 m², 5,000 m² of offices, and 800 parking spaces will be the Czech developer Amádeus Real, which owns the land as well as the 25-year-old cultural house. Construction will begin next year, said Jiří Hlinka, the media representative of the investor.
    "The city council agrees with the plan. Such department stores are being built in city centers." said Irena Vostracká, director of the Concept and Development Department of Plzeň. The city does not see the demolition of the cultural house, which is referred to in Plzeň as the House of Horrors at Radbuza, as a problem. According to Vostracká, its architecture corresponded to the time when the sprawling complex was built.
    "However, it is significantly energy-intensive and operationally demanding. There are hard-to-utilize spaces, such as terraces," added the architect. Amádeus Real owns the entire two-hectare plot on which part of the cultural house stands. Plzeň will still have enough halls for holding graduation balls, promotions, or large concerts even after its demolition. Large congress halls are being created here thanks to new hotels, Vostracká added. Plzeň, which heavily relies on the reconstructed Měšťanská Beseda, is also preparing the renovation of the cultural house Peklo and the construction of a new theater.
    "A huge advantage of the project is that all ownership relations are resolved. The investor owns both the land and the cultural house," Hlinka said. Amádeus Real is now preparing a request for a zoning decision.
    The center will have 150 shops, cafes, or services. "Labartt Properties, which manages the rental spaces, is also striving for significant tenants from the fashion sector, which are still missing in the center of Plzeň," Hlinka added. The complex will provide jobs for "hundreds of people." After 2013, a separate office building will gradually be connected to the building, which will complete Denisova nábřeží towards the downstream of the Radbuza River.
    The three-story center will be created in the golden cross of the city, where due to the concentration of pedestrian routes and public transport, a large number of people pass daily. The city wants to build a boulevard along Americká třída, where the Aréna department store will stand, comparable to those found in European metropolises. The architectural studio Hangár designed shops, restaurants, and services in the atrium galleries of Aréna. "There will be classic boutiques with maximum openness of space. The atrium will be vertically connected by escalators," Hlinka added.
    Amádeus Real, which already has two smaller centers in prominent locations in Prague and Ústí nad Labem, will open a shopping center Atrium in the center of Hradec Králové by the end of this year and has begun preparations for a multifunctional shopping complex Ostravica in Ostrava.