Penta applied for an EIA for construction in Florenc, wants to move the train station

Prague - The company Masaryk Station Investment, controlled by the Penta group, has applied for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a large-scale construction project between Masaryk Station and Florenc. This was discovered by the Czech News Agency (ČTK) from the EIA database. The predominantly residential construction on approximately 44,000 square meters will consist of six blocks. The plan also includes the relocation of the bus station and the demolition and construction of a new terminal, with this work expected to begin next year, according to the announcement.

The planned construction on the railway brownfield will connect Karlín with the New Town and offer 108,700 square meters of gross floor area. Four blocks will be for residential use, one of which will include a hotel. The remaining two will be for office use. The project plans to build 966 parking spaces and public areas with greenery. The central part of the development will, according to the announcement, be a pedestrian zone.

According to earlier information, Penta wants to invest approximately 20 billion crowns in the new district. In cooperation with Prague, it has announced an architectural competition for the design of the individual blocks, selecting 15 studios from around the world. David Musil, the Executive Director of Penta Real Estate, recently stated during the announcement of the competition results that the company aims to start construction in 2028. However, according to the timeline stated in the EIA announcement, construction is set to start in 2030 with the first administrative block, which will be built on the site of the current bus station. The entire district is expected to be completed nine years later.

Next year, the developer plans to begin work on relocating the station from the area designated for development eastward to the current bus parking areas and parking lots, according to the document. The company intends to demolish the current terminal and build a replacement on the site of the current parking lot by the Negrelli viaduct. The capacity of the station, even after relocation, should remain the same, according to the announcement, when implementing the proposed dynamic traffic management.

Penta has built the office building Masaryčka on part of the land near Masaryk Station, which it opened two years ago. Last year, city councilors approved two changes to the zoning plan that allowed further construction. The first related to land near the station to the east, and the second to a plot in Florenc that includes the bus station. Penta purchased this along with adjacent land in 2023. For the planned construction, the developer will contribute a total of 304.2 million crowns to the municipality, Prague 1, and Prague 8 in the form of monetary or non-monetary contributions. The agreements have been criticized by the Arnika association, which disapproves of, for example, the relocation of the bus station.