Investor of the Flower House in the center of Prague is requesting a building permit

"We can confirm that we have received all the necessary official statements, which we have submitted to the building office, and the building permit process is continuing," said Alexandra Drozdová from Best Communications for the investor to ČTK.

According to earlier information, the total costs for the new building are two billion crowns, of which the construction is expected to cost 800 million crowns. Upon completion, the building will have three underground and nine above-ground floors, offering 15,000 square meters of office space and 5,700 square meters of retail space.

The construction of the building, which its investor, Flow East, calls the Flower House, has been accompanied by years of preparation and controversial decisions by the relevant authorities. The public, especially a group of experts, have been involved in the events surrounding the planned building. Their activities peaked after the authorities permitted the demolition of the corner building.

The new building will fill the plot after it and the land in the courtyard, as well as the land of the former printing house on Opletalova Street, which was demolished by the then-owner in 2008. Only after that did he request the removal of heritage protection, which the Ministry of Culture complied with; the plot remained protected.

When the property was already owned by Flow East, the remaining façade was also demolished in 2013 based on a structural engineer's report. The Ministry did not declare the building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street as a heritage site, primarily due to concerns about arbitration regarding the thwarted investment. The developer based their actions on previous decisions by the authorities that allowed for the future realization of the project.