Prague wants to negotiate again about the direct purchase of the Žižkov Freight Station building

Prague - The Prague City Hall wants to strive for a direct purchase of the Žižkov Freight Station building instead of the contemplated establishment of a joint venture with Czech Railways and Sekyra Group. This was stated to journalists by councilor Adam Zábranský and deputy mayor Petr Hlaváček after today's city council meeting. The city aims to establish a cultural and social center and a school in the functionalist building. Several development companies plan to build a new district for up to 15,000 inhabitants in the unused area around the station.

The sprawling building is owned by Czech Railways, which previously created a joint venture with Sekyra Group, called Žižkov Station Development, that holds a pre-emption right to the station building. The city has been negotiating with them about the future of the station for a long time; in recent years, according to statements from representatives of the previous leadership of Prague, the focus had been on the possibility of establishing a joint venture with shares from current owners and the city hall.

According to Zábranský, the councilors have now reassessed this, and the city will focus on negotiations for a direct purchase moving forward. "It turned out that it would be a very complicated path, so we ultimately agreed that the best way would be to acquire the building from the ownership of the capital city and deal with any cooperation with the private sector later. Legally, it would definitely be much simpler, and I hope this path will work out,” he said today.

According to Hlaváček, the city's leadership also declared that it still aims to transform the building into a social, cultural, and educational center. According to earlier statements, the functionalist station could house the National Film Archive, cultural and social spaces, or an elementary school.

Initially, the station was to make way for construction, but due to pressure from activists, the demolition was abandoned, and the building has been a cultural monument since 2013. According to an urban study approved last year, up to 15,000 inhabitants could live in the new district of the Žižkov Freight Station area in the future, with parks and several schools and kindergartens planned to be created there. A tram line will be built along the northern edge of the area along Malešická Street, and the new Jarovská Street will connect the district to the future section of the city ring road.

The Central Group has already begun construction of apartments in the area, and Finep, Penta Real Estate, and Sekyra Group also plan developments there. The city hall and Prague 3 are negotiating with developers about contributions to infrastructure development, with companies expected to provide local governments with so-called contributions worth 1.5 billion crowns, according to statements from city representatives.