Two houses with up to 266 cooperative flats will be built along Radlická Street in Prague 5. Yesterday, Prague councilors approved a memorandum with the fifth city district, according to which Prague wants to establish a housing cooperative and build apartments in this locality. The aim is to contribute to the expansion of affordable housing for residents of Prague, announced Councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová (for STAN).
The project to support affordable cooperative housing was approved by the Prague City Council in December 2020. The city then looked for suitable plots of land and selected those in Prague 5 for the time being. The lack of flats and the high price have plagued the city for a long time.
“Prague thus wants to respond to the dramatic situation with housing. Apartment prices are flying up six times faster than income. Cooperative housing is the fastest way to help the people of Prague get more affordable housing,” said Marvanová.
Following the conclusion of the memorandum, the following steps will mainly concern the economic and legal aspects associated with the establishment of the cooperative. This means, for example, creating a detailed project plan, providing the necessary documentation and preparing an estimate of construction costs.
The house on Radlická should have a gross floor area of approximately 20,000 sqm in the coming years and will consist of at least two blocks with separate entrances. Inside, there will be 221 to 266 apartments and their average area should range from 54 to 65 sqm.
Land for cooperative housing will be provided by the city by establishing the right of construction for cooperatives. The land will remain in his possession. In return, the cooperatives will, through the cooperative, pay an annual contribution to the city to the affordable housing development fund. After repaying the construction loan, the cooperative will be able to buy the land from the city under pre-determined conditions. The resulting savings in housing costs for a cooperative member can total 25 to 30 percent compared to market prices.
Support for cooperative and federal housing generally envisages that the city will provide its land for the construction of an apartment building through the so-called right of construction for up to 99 years. This would then be built on either by cooperatives founded by the municipality together with a private partner, or by special civic associations inspired by the German so-called baugruppe. In both cases, the land is bought by the municipality from the municipality to the repayment of the house itself.
Source: CTK
