Developer has started construction of the criticized Gallery Stromovka in Prague 7

Prague - British developer Lordship this week started the construction of the office center Galerie Stromovka, against which local residents have protested for several years. The construction on the city land above the Parkhotel was allowed by the leadership of Prague 7 despite opposition.
    The seven-story building will offer nearly 20,000 square meters of office and retail space and 500 underground parking spaces. The main tenant will be the retail chain Tesco. Workers with heavy machinery have already begun preparing the construction site and demolishing the original buildings. Excavation work and the construction of the underground parking lot will start around the end of March and the beginning of April, informed board vice-chairman Martin Pilka.
    On Monday, the city council will decide on the sale of the leased land. For the estimated price of 93.5 million crowns, the current tenant and project investor, the company Holešovický trojúhelník, belonging to the Lordship family, could acquire it. The sale is being advocated by the coalition of ODS and ČSSD, which wants to use the money for the planned purchase of a new city hall. "We need money for construction and the sale of this land could help us," said mayor Marek Ječmének (ODS) earlier.
    However, the opposition criticizes the plan as unfavorable. "The sale of this land is an economic nonsense," said councilor Ondřej Mirovský from the Green Party. "The current lease agreement yields a profit of five million a year, which means that Prague 7 would receive the selling price in a 20-year horizon and the land would remain in its ownership," he added. According to the opposition, Prague 7 could place a new city hall on the land.