The population of Prague is growing, in the metropolis it is not possible to build flats for them
The forecast follows from the strategic plan of the capital, currently the most important document, which outlined the vision according to which the municipality wants to guide the development of Prague in the coming decades.
More Praguers
|
If it turns out to be the right one, the growing population will create demand for 82,400 flats not yet built by 2030.
In order to satisfy it, an average of 5,500 new Prague flats should be built annually between 2016 and 2030.
It is building too slowly in the metropolis
Such a pace of construction is very far from the current situation in Prague.
“In the last five years, only less than 4,300 flats have been completed on average every year,” says Marek Vácha from the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), who prepared an extensive analysis of housing and the real estate market in Prague for the municipality. The document is intended to serve the city in deciding on the future direction of housing policy.
Looking at last year’s figures, it would be clear that the situation has improved rapidly, as 6,092 flats were completed in 2016, but a closer examination shows that this is not the case. Another information is also important – the number of flats that are being developed in a given year has begun construction. And last year it was even half less than a year before – only 2,758.
“This is likely to worsen the deficit in the supply of new flats, which, among other things, has resulted in a significant increase in housing prices,” the IPR analysis said.
Construction of Prague flats in the years 2001 to 2015
The city’s hope for the construction of a larger number of new flats is represented by brownfields, ie the development areas of former industrial enterprises or railway stations. Their problem is often that a building closure is imposed on them.
The metropolitan plan should remove this from many of them, but it will not be ready until 2022. Therefore, Prague is processing zoning documentation for several selected brownfields and it is possible that it will approve them before the new zoning plan comes into force.
These special studies are intended to enable even in places with a building closure and to clearly determine what can be built in them.
“The territorial study in Satalice will probably be completed first. The result will also be known for the Rohan Island area in the summer, and there is also a study for the Ruzyně Transformation Area in the advanced stadium, “said the Deputy Mayor. Petra Kolínská (Troika Coalition).
Studies should follow for another location, for example for the former freight stations Bubny-Zátory or Žižkov.
New houses created in old buildings
In addition to brownfields, there are also spaces for new development within Prague, which have not yet been occupied by gaps where houses used to stand or which have not been built up for a long time, often since the First Republic.
“There are a number of such plots in the city, but until recently they were disadvantaged because it was not easy to meet the standards for direct daylight or distance from other buildings,” says Vácha.
The prices of flats and rents in Prague are still rising
|
However, this was changed by the new Prague building regulations approved last year, which eased many of these restrictions. The earlier decree was more in line with modernist construction, such as housing estates around Prague.
The new regulations are now moving more towards a compact city, common in neighborhoods such as Dejvice, Vinohrady or Letná.
“But we have to prepare, as a nurse of projects and construction. In the capital, these processes take a very long time. It will take several more years for the change to take effect and more construction in the gaps will begin, ”adds Vácha.
Complicated and often unpredictable land and construction proceedings are, after all, IPR analyzes which hinder the acceleration of housing construction the most.
From the beginning of the project to the first tenants moving in, it usually takes five to eight years in Prague.
“As a result, new flats may be completed at a time when conditions are already in place in the residential market,” the document said. After all, most developers have been complaining about this for years.
But it’s not just new buildings. Prague has a considerable reserve elsewhere. Part of the IPR analysis was the mapping of unused real estate, for which the institute used the database of the Empty Houses project.
There could be thousands of flats in empty buildings
The survey subsequently showed that there are currently about two hundred empty multi-storey buildings in Prague. If all were converted into apartment buildings, they could provide up to 6,500 apartments. Thus, they will not satisfy the demand for flats by 2030, but they could help to bridge the critical period.
The second benefit would, of course, be the meaningful use of often dilapidated buildings. However, most of these buildings are not owned by the city or city districts. Therefore, if Prague wants to contribute to their conversion into apartment buildings, it will have to come up with some way to convince their owners to take such a step.
The largest apartment building in the Czech Republic has grown in Prague: