Plzeň will build 700 apartments in the former barracks, has a contract with their owner

Plzeň – Plzeň will build 700 new municipal apartments in the area of the former Slovany barracks near the exit to southern Bohemia and the D5 highway. It has a contract with the private owner of the cleared land, which is preparing a modern district with more than 3,200 apartments for 10,000 residents. The investor has brought water from the municipal treatment plant to the area, which was a condition for the development of the site. The city could start building its first houses in two years. CTK was told this by Deputy Mayor Pavel Bosák (Pirates).

According to Bosák, the investor has completed the zero phase of the water supply at their own expense, which has already been handed over to the city. They have a fresh building permit for the technical infrastructure in the area and for the street network, which they plan to start building this year. "They plan to start from Nepomucká Street but will also build streets in our (opposite) part from Jasmínová Street," Bosák stated. The city wants to build the first block in two years. "We have a zoning study, and in the fall, we will be submitting projects for individual houses," he added.

According to the cooperation agreement with the investor, Plzeň has a right of first refusal to purchase 5.4 hectares of land, more than one-seventh of the area of the former barracks, at a discounted guaranteed price, which, according to the deputy, is the greatest benefit.

"We have the approval to start designing so that we are ready. The next council must allocate funds for the purchase of those lands," Bosák stated. According to him, it will involve hundreds of millions and Plzeň will likely negotiate a loan that it would repay from the rents collected from the apartments.

The city wants to build all the apartments according to Bosák. "We will not have such an opportunity to expand again. This is the largest brownfield, i.e., development area, and I consider it a huge success that we managed to establish ourselves there. There are not many such spaces left in Plzeň," he said.

According to Mayor Roman Zarzycký (ANO), the housing project at the Slovany barracks is unique in the Czech Republic. "APB implemented the zero phase of the water supply infrastructure there for about 160 million crowns. For us, its value is even greater because we anticipated it would cost 220 million," he said. The investor, the company APB - Plzeň, is collaborating with the city to define mutual relations in the area. According to Bosák, the contract allows the shape of the future district to be influenced, as it includes an agreement on the binding nature of the zoning study. Therefore, the investor cannot, for example, build high-rise buildings instead of lower construction.

APB is expected to invest 15 to 20 billion crowns in the barracks. In addition to the modern district, they will build a two-hectare central park, shops, and offices, where about 2,300 people will work. More than a third of the area is to be green space. They plan to start building the first houses as early as next year.