The change of plans for the Cargo Station Žižkov could be in 2020

Prague - The long-anticipated change to Prague's zoning plan for the Žižkov Freight Station area could be completed by 2020. Representatives from the city's Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), which prepared the study serving as the basis for the change, mentioned this at today's public discussion. It is necessary for the development of the land currently subject to a building ban, where companies like Central Group and Penta Investment have plans. According to the study, the area could accommodate up to 15,000 residents and includes a tram line running through the area and a new Jarov connection for road traffic. Prague is negotiating with Czech Railways for the takeover of the station building.

The Prague 3 city hall organized a public debate because the zoning plan change, prepared with various delays since 2008, is heading towards final approval. In the coming days, the IPR will submit the final materials to the municipality based on which a date for a so-called joint meeting will be announced. According to Jaromír Hainc from the IPR, public notification is made about a month and a half in advance, which is also the period during which anyone can submit comments on the proposed change at the municipality. According to Matěj Michalek Žaloudek (Green Party), the chairman of the committee for urban development in Prague 3, the city hall of the third district intends to do so as well. They aim to approve it at the June council meeting.

According to the study, which serves as the basis for the change, the center of the area is to be the functionalist station building, which has been protected as a monument since 2013. It is to be surrounded by residential buildings of four to six above-ground floors. A new tram line from Jana Želivského is planned to run through the center of the area, exiting at K Červenému dvoru street. The proposal also includes a two-lane road that should connect the station area with Českobrodská street at a planned future intersection with a new section of the city ring road under Jarov.

Disagreements among residents of Prague 3 and politicians have previously arisen over the number of residents that the potential new district could accommodate. Architect Jan Sedlák, who is a co-author of an earlier version of the area's study, noted at the discussion that they originally estimated around 8,000 to 10,000 residents in the proposal. This was despite the fact that they based their estimates on Vinohrady, which is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the metropolis. The proposed 15,000 residents would mean a truly high density, he added.

The entire area around the former freight station spans approximately 33 hectares. The fate of the first-republic functionalist station building, which ceased operations in 2002, has been under discussion for years. It was originally to be replaced by construction, but due to pressure from activists, the demolition was canceled. The previous leadership of Prague approved the purchase of the property from ČD for 662 million crowns, and estimates for reconstruction costs range between 1.5 and 2.5 billion crowns. The current leadership of the municipal office aims to reach an agreement with private investors or the Ministry of Culture for shared usage so that the city does not have to bear the costs of the reconstruction alone.