Praha 15 wants to sell the former water tower, the opposition is against it

Prague - The Prague 15 City Hall plans to sell the lands with the buildings of the former water reservoir on V Chotejně street in the industrial area of Hostivař for approximately 25 million CZK. The intention was discussed today at an extraordinary council meeting, where the town hall leadership met with the opposition movement Patnáctka náš domov (15ND). The opposition unsuccessfully demanded the cancellation of the sale intention. According to them, the new council is proceeding with the sale in a non-transparent manner and a discussion should be held about possible alternative uses for the area. The city district previously considered public use of the area, but during the last electoral period, it withdrew from that plan.

Representatives of 15ND were part of a coalition with ANO and ČSSD during the last electoral period. Today, they criticized their former colleagues from ANO for not discussing the sale intention and its details in the city council, even during the coalition cooperation. "It used to be a good practice that sale and exchange intentions for land were always first discussed by the city council, which did not happen in this case," said councilor Marcel Pencák (15ND).

The water reservoirs ceased to serve their original purpose in the 1990s. In 2012, the city district had a study conducted regarding possible uses of the land, which indicated that both water reservoir buildings were in good condition and could partially be used for public purposes, such as sports or culture. The public use project was supposed to be partially financed by the sale of part of the area. The previous town hall leadership withdrew from the intention, according to the current first deputy mayor Václav Bílek (ANO), mainly because the costs could rise to 130 million CZK.

Subsequently, a request from the owner of the adjacent land for purchase came. According to the first appraisal, the town hall should have received 39 million for the area, but the interested party submitted objections. In their opinion, the price was overrated, for example, because the appraisal considered the approval of the recently discussed change to the zoning plan, or because it did not take into account the demolition of existing buildings. A second appraisal followed, setting the price at 25 million, which took into account an estimated cost of ten million for the removal of the buildings. 15ND pointed out that the interested buyer is Aleš Petříš, the son of a former mayor from ODS, which has returned to the council during this period.

The opposition is unhappy that the city district is selling the property now and at a lower price, while future appreciation is expected after possible approval of the zoning plan change. If the property is to be sold, the council should, according to the opposition, announce an open tender to maximize the final price.

With the direct sale method chosen by the town hall, other parties can also express their interest besides the original buyer. So far, according to the office secretary Aleš Cejnar, three envelopes have arrived at the town hall. Representatives of the current leadership of the city district pointed out that the final approval of the sale will still be discussed in the council and at the assembly meeting, which will take place at the end of December. However, according to deputy mayor Bílek, the sale cannot be postponed too long, as the structure of the water reservoirs, which are not filled with water, is gradually deteriorating, and in the long term, the town hall will be obliged to invest in their maintenance.