A new urban district should be developed in Letňany on the site of the airport

Prague - According to the plans of the PPF group, a new urban district should be developed on the grounds of the existing sports airport in Prague's Letňany. Over the next few decades, a park is expected to be established first, followed by a neighborhood with housing, shops and services, or administrative spaces. PPF, which owns the land, announced this today via ČTK. Construction is expected to start in about ten to 15 years, and the group does not yet have an estimate of the investment amount. The landowners, in cooperation with the city, have initiated the process of changing the land use.

According to the owners, the operation of the sports airport and the operation of flight schools in the middle of a densely populated urban agglomeration is no longer sustainable in the long term. The change in land use should open up and connect the currently isolated area and shorten access to some strategic locations, including the final station of metro line C.

In the western part of today's airport, a 15-hectare park should first be created, which will connect to the existing Letňany Forest Park. In the green strip along the area, a space for approximately 150,000 square meters of sports facilities and a new cycling path that will connect to the current infrastructure is planned. In the second part of the area, over the next few decades, an urban district with apartments, shops and services, administrative spaces, or research facilities for aviation will be built.

"Our ambition is to design a functioning urban district that will be a balanced set of all urban functions. A place where people can live, work, learn, but also enjoy cultural life, shop, relax, and engage in sports. All comfortably, without having to spend time on long commutes from place to place," said Vladislav Minář, managing director of the companies that own the land under the airport and are part of the PPF group.

The preparation of an urban study for the use of the entire area is being worked on by the QARTA ARCHITEKTURA studio, which has experience in revitalizing Prague's Karlín. According to PPF, the urban planners were tasked with improving the traffic situation in the Letňany-Kbely-Čakovice area, supplementing key urban functions, and strengthening infrastructure for work and housing. One of the priorities is the construction of a connecting road between Beladova and Toužimská streets, which would serve as a detour for the traffic-congested Letňany and Kbely. The plan also includes a corridor for public transport, which should significantly improve traffic connectivity to Kbely.

Minář further stated that the district should also include technologies for managing utility and rainwater, as well as smart systems capable of optimizing traffic, public transport intervals, and waste collection, or solar walls for capturing energy and its subsequent use. According to the owners, the new district should resemble the newly developed Vienna district of Aspern, which is currently being constructed on the site of a former airport.

According to the mayor of the municipal district, Zdeněk Kučera, the administrative process of decision-making regarding the construction entails several steps. PPF has now submitted a proposal for a change to the zoning plan, to which the municipal district has not yet responded. The city hall and the Institute of Planning and Development of Prague will also deal with the construction. The entire process could therefore take several years. Kučera also pointed out that the airport complex was declared a national nature monument in 2005 due to the presence of the endangered species European ground squirrel. "Thus, this area is still protected and cannot be built on," he noted.

This is yet another development project for the construction of a new district in Prague. One of these is, for example, the Sigma Modřany project for 5.5 billion CZK, where Central Group will build a new residential district on a plot of 89,000 square meters to replace the existing large warehouse complex. At the site of the former freight station in Prague's Smíchov, the Sekyra Group is developing the Smíchov City project, which could accommodate up to 3,300 people, with plans for approximately 190,000 square meters of space for services, shopping, and offices. The project includes an elementary and preschool school along with cultural centers. Additional projects are planned near Masaryk Station.

Prague is in dispute with the state over undeveloped areas adjacent to the proposed PPF project. Part of them is owned by the state and part by the city, with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) wanting to use the space for the construction of facilities for state officials. However, he needs to convince the city to transfer its land to the state. The leadership of the city hall under Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) is resisting this, rejecting the idea of an "administrative ghetto," and conditions the transfer of the land to the state on several requirements, such as financial contributions for the completion of the city ring road.