Plzeň will begin negotiations with the investor of the giant building about changes to his plans

Plzeň - The Plzeň City Hall will soon negotiate with the investor of a large shopping center about changes to its plans or the sale of its land to the city. The construction of the complex was rejected by the citizens of Plzeň in a referendum over the weekend. In any case, it will be necessary to terminate the lease agreements for the city plots that the project had counted on, said the economic deputy mayor Martin Zrzavecký (ČSSD) to ČTK.
     According to him, these are only small plots on the edge of the private area, but if the investor did not have them available, he would have to change the project and initiate a new zoning procedure.
     The Amádeus company, which wants to build the Corso Americká complex for 2.5 billion crowns, has stated several times that it does not want to sell its land to the city. If it were to consider this in the future, it would certainly not do so for hundreds of millions of crowns, as the city estimates, but would request several billion from Plzeň, including the costs already incurred and the lost investment. "I am afraid that the investor will demand compensation for the lost investment. The city has long-term financial commitments to the European Investment Bank (EIB). It is an open question how Plzeň's position would be assessed," said Zrzavecký. According to him, the contract with the EIB also accounts for the inability to repay loans, which in the worst-case scenario could mean the termination of cooperation with the EIB and immediate repayment of all obligations.
     "We can only wait and see what the city will do, and we will act accordingly," said Amádeus representative Jan Petřík to ČTK. The investor is not currently considering revising the project to a smaller object that would not need the marginal city plots. The zoning procedure that Amádeus suspended at the city's request until January 12, i.e., until the results of the referendum, will now continue automatically according to him. "We cannot predict the next developments," Petřík added.
     The city hall will now begin to prepare steps that the results of the referendum obligate it to take, namely to prevent the construction by all legal means. Today, an extraordinary city council meeting is being held.
     "We acknowledged the result of the referendum and instructed the office (city hall) to prepare a document describing all the steps the city must take. The secretary will collaborate with all departments of the office on the proposal for a resolution that the council members will approve on January 24," said Zrzavecký.
     According to Petřík, the referendum will end up in court. The investor himself, however, will not challenge its results. Amádeus previously contested the issue of the referendum with a complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court. "They dismissed our complaint and said that the referendum would not affect us, which is bizarre," Petřík stated. According to him, only authorized persons, i.e., voters in the referendum, can file a lawsuit against the results of the referendum until next Tuesday. "We are hearing from supporters, of whom there are almost 20,000, and we do not rule out that we will be in contact with some of them," Petřík said. According to him, "someone will definitely contest the referendum."
     According to Zrzavecký, the previous leadership of Plzeň made a mistake. "They did not allow public discussion and did not want to heed criticism. We were in a difficult situation two years ago. Either we try to complete the ongoing project with the least damage or we will have to pay," he stated.
     The multifunctional building Corso Americká is set to rise by 2015 on the site of last year's demolished cultural house. According to the current plans, it is to have 90 businesses and employ nearly 1,000 people. Opponents, who collected almost 20,000 signatures for the referendum, argue that the complex will cause the bankruptcy of small merchants in the center, traffic jams, more noise and dust, and disagree with its size of 35,000 m², which is equivalent to ten Plzeň cathedrals.