The project of the stadium and shops in H. Králové will likely end up in court

Hradec Králové - The project of the football arena and shopping center Park Malšovice in Hradec Králové, estimated at around 3.75 billion koruna, is likely to end up in court. Opponents of the shopping center, according to today's statement by Mayor Zdeněk Fink (HDK), will probably contest the already issued binding zoning decision for the entire project through an administrative lawsuit. If the courts side with the opponents of the construction, the city will likely undertake the stadium construction on its own. The shopping center was originally to be built by the German company ECE, and the Slovak firm HB Reavis is now set to join the project.
    The current project anticipates that the city will sell lucrative land next to the municipal stadium “U Lízátek” to developers for the shopping center. The money raised will then be invested by the council into the stadium renovation. If the retail project fails, the city would have to finance the stadium entirely on its own, at the cost of hundreds of millions of koruna.
    Opponents of the giant shopping center near the historical center of the city were unsuccessful in their complaints against the issuance of the zoning decision at the authorities. The regional office rejected their objections last year. "The shopping center is a needless gamble with money, space, and shopping capacity in Hradec. Such a megalomaniacal project will destroy Malšovice," said the previous construction opponent Jaroslav Kott. Some council members also express reservations about the project.
    The future of the project, which has been in preparation for over five years, is complicated by the fact that ECE announced last December that it was withdrawing from the project. HB Reavis is to become the new entity involved in the project, as it is preparing a competing shopping center project at Koruna. "HB Reavis wants to take over the construction part and build the Park Malšovice shopping center, while ECE is interested in leasing and operating the completed complex," said Fink.
    Despite the threat of a court halt to the project, the city continues to work on its preparation. The council could approve the amendments to the contracts involving HB Reavis in March, said Deputy Mayor Jindřich Vedlich (TOP 09). According to him, the city intends to apply for a building permit for the stadium by the end of February. Developers will also apply for a building permit for the shopping center on their own. The zoning decision for the project was obtained jointly by the city and ECE.
    The principle of the Malšovice project is that ECE will purchase land for its Arkády shopping center from the city for 259 million koruna. The city will then construct a new stadium for about half a billion koruna on its own. ECE has also committed to providing the football club with 176 million koruna over ten years and will pay around 115 million koruna for infrastructure, transport connections, and the demolition of the stadium. HB Reavis has previously stated that it intends to fulfill its obligations towards the city and the football club.
    HB Reavis is preparing its own shopping gallery project Aupark near Koruna for nearly two billion koruna. If HB Reavis were to become involved in the Malšovice project, the project at Koruna would be significantly reduced, according to Fink. The retail space could supposedly be decreased from 24,000 square meters to 14,000 square meters, and the office space would be increased. According to Fink, the location of the CSOB administrative center could then be in play. In the case of a reduction, HB Reavis would have to request a new zoning decision for Aupark.