The councilors of Havní město expressed their disagreement with the planned construction on Miloš Forman Square next to the Intercontinental Hotel. At the same time, they commissioned the city-established Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) to file an objection to the building in the already initiated territorial proceedings. The building is planned to be built by its owners as part of a complete reconstruction of the hotel’s surroundings, as opposed by some locals. Prague has already tried unsuccessfully to enforce disagreement with the construction at the city council.
The Piazzetta, named after the famous director, is part of the Intercontinental Hotel, which was bought by entrepreneurs Oldřich Šlemr, Eduard Kučer and Pavel Baudiš through the R2G fund in January 2019. After acquiring the hotel, the owners presented a plan to renovate its surroundings, which includes a glass building. Originally, it was supposed to have five floors above ground, after criticism, the investor reduced the number by two.
The former mayor and current opposition representative of Prague 1, Pavel Čižinský (Prague Sobě), and his brother Jan, who is the chairman of the Prague Sobě representative club at the municipality, deputy and mayor of Prague 7, strongly opposed the construction. they jointly voted for representatives of the United Forces for Prague (TOP 09 and STAN), most of whom abstained in the vote. At the last meeting of the deputies, Prague did not succeed in enforcing a similarly formulated position. Now the approval of the representative is no longer necessary.
According to the approved document, the area on which the building should stand is a public space, and the construction is therefore undesirable. According to the zoning plan, it is now possible to place only small retail spaces in a public space. However, the investor has previously obtained the approval of all necessary bodies and institutions, including the Prague City Hall and the IPR. The city government does not decide on the building permit, it can only file an objection as a party to the proceedings. That is what politicians have entrusted IPR with today.
“According to the zoning plan, it is not a building block now, there is a question of interpretation of the rules of the zoning plan in this locality,” said Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) after today’s meeting. According to Deputy Mayor for Territorial Development Petr Hlaváček (for TOP 09), who abstained today, this is a clash of two views. “One sees the intervention by the construction of a hotel and the demolition of the rest of the preserved block as a finished and stabilized situation, where the removed block forms a square. He added that he considered the second approach to be correct. The Department of Territorial Development of the Municipality also agreed with it, which agreed with the construction.
Representatives of hotel owners oppose the resistance of some politicians, most recently in an open letter to Jan Čižinský. The chairman of the board of the R2G fund, Michal Smrek, stated, among other things, that Čižinský has a conflict of interest because his mother lives at the piazzetta and grew up there.
“This is a textbook example of a conflict of interest in a conflict of interest policy, which seeks to use its political influence and pressures local authorities to challenge retrospectively issued and legally binding consensus of the relevant state administration bodies and IPRs, , “said the manager. Čižinský previously denied that it is a conflict of interest.
The procedure of the city leadership was also criticized by the opposition representative Patrik Nacher (YES). “Despite the opinion of the council, despite the opinion of its own officials, despite the town hall of Prague 1. My opinion on this building is not important at the moment, but the way part of the ruling coalition in Prague asserts its positions is really very special. the meaning of the name – Prague to Himself, “he said.
The current piazza was built in the past, but some of the houses were destroyed at the end of World War II and the rest were demolished in the late 1960s. Now most of the space is occupied by ventilation and the entrance to the underground garages of the hotel, which should disappear after the reconstruction. According to investors, the new building should occupy 8.5 percent of the new area of the square. The space has been named after Miloš Forman since 2018.
Source: CTK
