Praha will conduct a study for the change of the zoning plan of the freight station

Prague - Prague will develop a study for the change of the zoning plan for the Žižkov freight station, which will end the construction freeze. The most significant decision, according to Prague's Deputy Mayor Petra Kolínská (SZ/Trojkoalice), will be to determine the future tram route. The freight station stopped serving railway transport 14 years ago, and since then its further use has been addressed. The lands have several different owners.

For the study, the city's Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) will, according to Kolínská, also utilize previous documents created for the development of the area. "The change is also important so that we can move forward with the freight station building, where a cultural and social center is to be established. The current zoning plan only considers use for railway purposes," explained Kolínská.

In the building, which has been a cultural monument for four years, cultural institutions led by the National Film Archive, which is looking for a new seat in the wider center of Prague, could be based. There has also been consideration of the possibility of building joint exhibitions of stone sculpture from the National Museum and the city of Prague on the station grounds.

Talk about the development of the extensive area of the long-unused station has been ongoing for several years. Originally, alongside the tracks, the mentioned building was also supposed to disappear, but local residents and some politicians opposed it. Later, it was declared a cultural monument.

The study should outline urban and transport solutions for the area, including public spaces. For example, where tram lines will run or where schools and parks will be located. It should also address the functionalist building and its use. However, the study will not cover the entire area, as a part of it on the northwestern edge is owned by Central Group, where a zoning decision has already been issued, and the construction freeze does not apply there.

The Prague 3 City Hall approved a contract last year with the company Central Group, which owns the northwestern part of the area and intends to build over 2,000 apartments there. The company promised to build a kindergarten for the municipality. The opposition in Prague 3 criticized the contract, considering it unfavorable for the city hall. According to Kolínská, the area should be addressed as a whole.

A similar study as today for the Žižkov station was approved by the council last November for a similar area of Holešovice Bubny-Zátory.