The reconstruction of villas in Prague's Hřebenkách has been stalled for years, and homeless people are sleeping in them

Prague - The planned reconstruction and renovation of two villas in Hřebenkách on Prague's Smíchov, which began in 2023 with demolition work in one of the houses, is still halted due to a lawsuit and other objections from local residents and associations. Architect Petr Kolář from the ADR studio, which manages the project for the property owners, developer Martin Kulík, told journalists today. According to Kolář, homeless individuals are sleeping in the houses, having stolen everything that can be monetized. He has therefore reached out to Prague 5 for cooperation in ensuring safety at the sites.

"It can't be monitored; a security agency would need to be maintained permanently at enormous costs," Kolář said. He added that the investor currently sends agency workers to the site once a month, but that is not enough. According to Kolář, the owner of two neighboring villas designated for renovation, Karel Muzikář, is in a similar situation.

The project includes two villas on Tichá street. The investor plans to significantly reconstruct one, although according to Kolář, the intention still meets the conditions for renovation. The second, more well-preserved villa is to be sensitively reconstructed to its original form. The architect stated that the investor has been proceeding in accordance with the decisions of the authorities all along.

"We have never undertaken anything contrary to the permits and orders of individual state administration and self-government authorities, and we bear no responsibility for the current unsatisfactory situation," he wrote. According to Kolář, the owner Kulík has not yet given up on the project and wants to complete it, although he is disenchanted with the situation. He originally intended to live in the reconstructed villa, but due to his disgust with the attitude of the surroundings, he no longer plans to, added the architect.

The mayor of Prague 5, Lukáš Herold (ODS), stated that he does not consider the planned projects to be fortunate. "I do not like it, just like the citizens do," he said. He added that he has asked the Prague 5 building authority to urge the villa owners to better secure their property. "Prague 5 is not the founder of the city police or the Police of the Czech Republic. Like in other cases, the city district will ask both police departments to increase supervision in the area," added the deputy mayor for security, Petr Lachnit (ANO). According to him, the city hall, with the exception of Kolář's open letter, has not recorded any complaints from the owners of other properties regarding safety in the area.

Critics have protested against the reconstruction and expansion of one of the houses nicknamed Schieszlova villa, after the interwar politician Josef Schieszl, who lived there. Some experts, such as architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš, supported the protesting residents, stating that it is an architecturally valuable building in the modern style that fits into the surrounding development. However, Kolář stated that the villa was reconstructed during the communist era to such an extent that, according to two processed architectural-historical assessments, it has lost its historical and architectural value.

The architect stated today that he is personally pained by the situation. "I do not like working in the Czech Republic because of things like this," he said. He added that there are several buildings around the villas that have been long neglected due to similar obstructions. "If you take a walk around, you will find ten houses with a similar fate," he added.

The villas are not monument protected, but they are located in the Smíchov heritage zone. The Prague 5 city hall aims to expand this zone into other villa neighborhoods due to cases where owners wanted to demolish historical villas. At the request of the city district, the Ministry of Culture is preparing an extension to Cibulky and Malvazinky.