Prague to offer CZK 3.65 billion to Komerční banka for the building on Wenceslas Square

Prague City Hall will offer CZK 3.65 billion to Komerční banka (KB) for a building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Štěpánská Street. Officials from the leased Škodovo Palace in Jungmannova Street could move there in the future. The city councillors approved this today. Other interested parties could also bid to buy the building. The result of the tender should be known at the beginning of next week, according to the city councillor for finance Zdeněk Kovářík (ODS).

Prague councillors on Thursday morning approved the inclusion of the buyout on the agenda of the city council, which began the following day. Subsequently, the councillors approved the bid after about 17 hours of deliberations early this morning. The building is suitable in terms of capacity, which is roughly one-third larger than the existing premises in the Škoda Palace, according to the document approved by the councillors. It also said the location in the city centre at the junction of all three metro lines was also suitable.

The sale of the neo-classical building from the second half of the 1920s was confirmed on Thursday by KB communications director Tomáš Zavoral. However, he did not want to comment further on the matter. Kovářík said that KB allowed the city to submit an offer after the deadline.

Of all the options considered, the chosen building is the most suitable for the purposes of the office, according to councillor Kovářík. City officials are now housed in several locations. A large number of them - about 1,200 out of a total of about 2,200 - are in the Škodovo Palace in Jungmannova Street. But the municipality's lease with the owner, investment company GLL, expires there in 2028. By then, the city must figure out where to move the staff.

Prague's administration under former mayor Pavel Bem (ODS) moved the officials to Jungmannova Street. Prague has been dealing with the lease situation for several years and unsuccessfully sued the original owner of the palace, Copa Retail, over the rent. The former city administration headed by Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) agreed to modify the lease agreement. The 20-year lease was supposed to cost the city CZK 4.4 billion, but in the end it will pay CZK 860 million less. In 2017, the palace was bought by GLL Real Estate Partners, an investment company based in Munich.

Last year, Prague's administration considered buying the main post office building in Jindřišská Street, but ultimately did not reach an agreement with the Czech Post. In the past, there was also a plan to build a new building at Na Knížecí, but this too was abandoned. The city administration is housed in the New Town Hall on Mariánské náměstí.

Source: CTK