Plzeň filed an appeal in the dispute with the development company Amádeus

Plzeň - Plzeň has filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic due to a dispute with the Prague company Amádeus. The developer is suing the city for allegedly preventable investment concerning the unrealized project of the large shopping center Corso, which was intended to be built on the site of the former cultural house in the center. Amádeus Real is seeking 1.853 billion CZK in damages from Plzeň. The regional court returned the case for a new hearing to the District Court of Plzeň-město. CTK was informed by the mayor Martin Zrzavecký (ČSSD).

The Plzeň court as the first instance issued a judgment on May 4 last year, rejecting Amádeus's claim for payment and awarding the city compensation for legal representation costs. The investor appealed the judgment to the regional court. On June 26, 2017, the regional court overturned the district court's judgment and returned the case for further proceedings. The city filed a petition against the regional court's verdict on September 27 through the district court. "It suggests that the appellate court should change the regional court's decision so that the district court's judgment is confirmed, or alternatively, that the regional court's resolution is annulled and the case is returned for further proceedings," said the city's lawyer Dominik Tomášek.

Plzeň's council approved an urban study on Thursday for a roughly ten-hectare development in one of the most important areas of the central part of the city between Denisovo embankment, Sirkova street, and Americká třída. It also includes the area of the demolished cultural house and the Tesco department store, which Amádeus purchased this year, closed, and is likely to demolish.

In January 2013, Plzeň residents rejected the proposed Corso complex for 2.5 billion CZK in a referendum. Amádeus then withdrew from the project after failing to reach an agreement with the city council and subsequently began negotiating changes to it.

Immediately after the approval of the urban study, with which it collaborated, the investor will start preparing a new project. The urban study defines that the development must be divided into blocks separated by public spaces, with two 12-meter boulevards, underground parking, and the same building height as on the other side of Americká třída. Up to 60 percent of the area can be used for commerce, 20 percent for housing, and the rest for administration and services. According to the city leadership, the urban study should help resolve the dispute with Amádeus and corresponds to the results of the referendum.

In the future, the roadway on Sirkova street with tram tracks will be relocated and narrowed towards the police headquarters building, and blocks of houses will be completed near Hamburg in the same street, which were previously demolished. The urban study also considers two buildings of up to 40 meters, one on Americká street towards the railway station and the other opposite in front of Tesco.