A new Kaufland department store could be located in Bohnice, Prague. JTH Group wants to build the building in K Pazderkám Street. If it obtains the necessary permits, the department store could start building in advance at the beginning of 2023 and could be in operation from December 2024. This follows from the documentation submitted by the company for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project. The Anti-Fence organization, whose representatives demand that the plan be abandoned, does not agree with the plan. According to them, it will take away the greenery and worsen the traffic situation in the locality.
In addition to Kaufland, other smaller retailers are to have stores in the four-storey department store. According to the company’s plans, 232 parking spaces should be created for the needs of parking for customers and employees of the department store. According to the proposal, cars with goods deliveries should drive to the planned supply yard along the newly built access road from Lodžská Street.
The plan also envisages the creation of a new park, which should serve the citizens of Bohnice in particular, and the greening of the roof of the department store. The greenery should occupy about 40 percent of the area, as stated in the EIA documentation. According to the document, the start of construction is then tentatively expected in January 2023 and the end in December 2024. The exact dates for the start and completion of construction will, however, depend on further progress in the project.
According to critics of the construction, the construction of a department store would worsen the traffic situation in the locality and would have a negative impact on the environment. According to the representatives of the Against the Fence initiative, according to them, this is one of the few green islands in the Bohnice housing estate.
“Kaufland in any version is unacceptable for us in this locality. With its construction, a large part of the growing dividing green along K Pazderkám and Lodžská streets would disappear,” said Petr Kalla, chairman of the Anti-Fence initiative. Representatives of the initiative added that other department stores are within walking distance of the planned new building and the now dilapidated former Odra and Wisła shopping centers in the northern part of the Bohnice housing estate are waiting to be revitalized.
The plan for the construction of the shopping center was presented by the JTH company as early as 2018. At that time, about 12,000 people who signed the petition opposed the development of the land near the Prague Botanical Garden. Representatives of the Prague 8 and Troja districts, as well as the zoological and botanical gardens, also refused to build the Kaufland department store in the Bohnice housing estate. The Institute of Planning and Development of Prague also issued a negative opinion on the plan at that time.
Source: CTK
