The Archdiocese of Prague will not prepare any special conditions for the potential purchase of the tower

Prague - The Archdiocese of Prague does not plan to prepare special conditions for Prague as a potential buyer of the Jindřišská Tower. The general vicar of the Prague Archdiocese, Jan Balík, told ČTK today that the church must act as a prudent manager and sell any property that is economically disadvantageous for it in the best possible way. According to him, the medieval tower is now a tourist attraction, it is not a sacred object, and anyone can buy it. The archdiocese is selling the tower for 75 million crowns, and after one week since the advertisement was posted, it has recorded ten interested parties.

"Whether it is purchased by the city hall, Prague 1, or a person who wants to have such a tower named after them, from a business perspective, it makes no difference. What is important for us is to sell it to whoever offers the best bid," he said.

According to him, the tower requires an investment of about 20 to 30 million crowns for repairs. "For the church, it would be a mistake at this moment because even if we secured a grant, we would have to cover most of it from our own resources," the vicar believes. According to him, a long-term tenant has increased the value of the building. According to the advertisement text, in 2001, an interior space was built into the tower, on which the individual floors are placed.

"For the church to be able to prepare for a time when it will no longer receive money from the state for its activities, it must set its investment strategies so that the property starts generating income for us for the main, that is, religious activities, by 2030," the vicar stated. "In 2019, we in the Prague Archdiocese decided to focus on rental housing in Prague. We started working on it, and now we are taking over the first buildings for rental housing," Balík said. The archdiocese plans to present details at a press conference on December 1.

According to ČTK's information, it is currently about 63 apartments of various sizes in Prague's Zličín, and the archdiocese will also operate a restaurant and two stores in this area. The archdiocese currently has contracts for 300 new apartments, which should be available by the end of 2025. It is also negotiating the purchase of additional apartment buildings, with about 100 apartments currently in negotiation. The archdiocese aims to primarily buy new and large apartment complexes and would like to own a thousand apartments in the long term. Today, it lists its apartments on the market with the help of the real estate agency Lexxus, and in the future, it is building its own company.

"In addition, we have a lot of property that is a burden. It is unprofitable, its repairs and maintenance cost enormous finances, so we are consolidating church property. We are trying to transparently sell the properties that are poorly utilized for us," he stated. This property includes assets the church held before restitution, as well as those returned to it as part of the asset settlement with the state. "Most of the buildings we received in restitution and even before 1990 were in a deplorable state," he recalls.

"We engage various real estate agencies in this, and we are trying to enhance the property so that we can invest the money it generates back into, for example, rental housing. The Jindřišská Tower fits into this scenario," he explained. The tower has been rented long-term by the company Jindřišská věž. The lease agreement from 2000 was concluded for a fixed period until the end of 2044.