Praha 3 is negotiating with the state about the takeover of the ruins of the building where the ÚSTR was located

Prague - The Prague 3 Town Hall is negotiating with the Ministry of Finance about the possibility of taking over the shell of the building that previously housed the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (ÚSTR). During today's council meeting, Deputy Mayor of the district Pavel Dobeš (STAN) stated this. Only the shell remains of the building on Siwiecova Street after a failed reconstruction. According to earlier statements, if the district took it over, it would ensure demolition, and the land would be used for entrances and facilities for the neighboring Viktoria Žižkov stadium, which it owns.

"Discussions have already taken place both at the level of the Ministry of Finance and at the level of the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Affairs regarding the possibility of entrusting the building. I would like to say here that we are on a very good path to make it happen that ÚSTR could be entrusted to the property of the City of Prague and subsequently to the district," said the deputy mayor. "If they transferred it to us, access to the stadium would certainly be much more convenient than it is now," added councilor Jan Materna (TOP 09).

Dobeš added that if the transfer were successful, the town hall would announce a design competition for the appearance of the location, which would include the land under the building, Radost Park, and the Viktoria Žižkov stadium, which the town hall is currently working to partially renovate. The former owner of Viktoria Žižkov, Martin Louda, originally wanted to buy it from the municipality, but after the unsuccessful endeavor, the club sold it two years ago, and the town hall signed a thirty-year lease with the new owners for a symbolic crown per year.

ÚSTR was located in Žižkov in the building of the former Prognostic Institute. The failed reconstruction and preservation of the facility cost around 60 million crowns; the case was investigated by the Ministry of Finance and the police due to suspicions of mismanagement in the past. ÚSTR has been without a headquarters for several years; the director of its council, Eduard Stehlík, suggested last year moving into the Petschkova Palace at the corner of Politických vězňů and Washingtonova streets as a possible solution.