Prague will not sell the land where the so-called marshmallow was to be created

Prague - The capital city will not sell the land on U Milosrdných Street in the Old Town, where a controversial building nicknamed "marshmallow" was supposed to be constructed. The city council did not approve the sale today. According to the original contract from 1999, the sale to the investor is to take place only after the completion and approval of the building, which in the past has faced criticism from numerous architects and civic activists. Some politicians have criticized the sales plan. According to the investor, construction of the building will not begin before 2020, as the architectural design is currently being selected.

The residential building near the Agnes Monastery has been in planning for nearly 20 years. The original Italian investor previously presented a design, the visualization of which featured a facade in white and pink colors. This led to the project being nicknamed "marshmallow," attracting a wave of criticism. This year, the project was purchased from the Italian developer Francesco Augusta Razetta by the Czech company V Invest, which has now negotiated a direct purchase of the land with Prague.

The company has a contract regarding the land, which is owned by the capital city, based on a 1999 agreement. In 2007, a pre-emption agreement was signed at a price of approximately 27,000 crowns per square meter after the building's approval. The contract is still valid.

However, the antimonopoly office warned the capital city that selling the land based on the price customary in 1999 would mean a possible violation of competition laws. In response, the city hall began negotiations for a direct sale. Based on an expert assessment, the price for the land was determined to be 52,500 crowns excluding VAT per square meter. Taking into account the costs incurred by the investor so far, the office reached a final purchase price of 34,111 CZK excluding VAT per square meter.

The sale was opposed by the council opposition from Prague 1 and Deputy Mayor Petra Kolínská (Greens/Coalition), who believe that the sale of the land is currently unnecessary. The presenter of the proposal, Karel Graben Procházka (ANO), was unable to secure enough votes at today's council meeting.

Immediately after acquiring the project, V Invest announced that it was moving away from the original marshmallow design and would seek a new form for the residential building. The media representative of the company, Jakub Hynek, told ČTK that five architectural studios have submitted proposals so far. The company aims to select the winning proposal by the end of the year.

"The new proposal will primarily focus on redesigning the internal layouts to ensure a good living environment for the new residents. This will also lead to changes in the placement of windows and the overall external appearance of the facade," Hynek explained. He added that the developer is continuously consulting the proposal with heritage conservationists, the building office, and plans to engage in discussions with the project's neighbors.