Plzeň will build an apartment building on Emil Škoda Square near the city center for hundreds of millions

Plzeň - Plzeň will build a new house with 68 apartments on Emil Škoda Square near the center for several hundred million crowns. The study is complete, and now the project will be commissioned, which should be finished within a year and a half. The construction will be funded from its own resources. The city plans to take a favorable loan, the repayments of which it intends to cover from the rents of 2+kk and 3+kk apartments. After the planned construction of three new houses in Světovar with 170 apartments, this is the second largest housing project in the city. This was stated by councilor Světlana Budková (STAN) and deputy mayor Pavel Bosák (Pirates) today to ČTK.

"The building will complete and close the current unfinished and somewhat bleak block of houses. It will become part of the eastern side of the new Emil Škoda Square. The central bus station (CAN) and its surroundings will be transformed into a fully-fledged urban district with apartments, shops, and offices," said Bosák. The location is to develop into a well-urbanized district with plenty of greenery and public spaces.

According to Bosák, the city's planning and development office is now updating the zoning study for the area around the CAN, which will define building blocks and establish regulations for construction. One of the blocks is defined by the streets Husova, Tylova, Husovo Square, and Emil Škoda Square.

"These will be beautiful apartments of modern architecture, not in the social category. It will be affordable housing for ordinary residents of Plzeň and will be allocated based on criteria that will be determined later," said Bosák. Construction is expected to start at the end of 2025 and last over a year.

The estimated price will arise from the project documentation. "We are looking at lower hundreds of millions. We will still work out parking and the layout of apartments and non-residential spaces," said Bosák. The city does not count on subsidies but on a loan. According to Budková, while significant European support for housing and projects is planned, the Ministry for Regional Development has not yet put together their conditions. "Alongside the project preparation, we are working on a financing model through a loan so that the rents can cover the loan. Preliminary calculations indicate that this could work," said Bosák.

The new building will have two underground floors with parking spaces and six above-ground floors with a seventh set back. The ground floor will include non-residential spaces for commerce and services, and greenery is planned for the courtyard. "The apartments are designed for both families with children and seniors. Selected units can also be equipped for the housing of citizens with disabilities," said Budková. The roof will be green. The design also includes retention tanks for collecting rainwater for irrigating the garden in the courtyard.