Hlaváček: We need reasonable developers | Newstream
All of Western Europe has different forms of urban construction. “It would be a sin if Prague got rid of its own land, of which it does not have many, and did not use it as a basis for urban construction. At the same time, I realize that to create a high-quality urban environment, we need reasonable developers,” says urban planner Petr Hlaváček, known as the founding father of the Prague Development Company, who defended the post of STAN in the Prague council in the municipal elections.
As head of territorial development, shouldn’t you have done more to build more in Prague?
And that’s what we just did. Because, in addition to the Metropolitan Plan, which brings another order to the city and clearly defines the future, where it is to be built or not, it defines clearly green areas, so we carried out changes to the spatial plan in a completely rocket-like manner. We were quick to stop the changes we thought were negative and very quickly we were the ones we thought were positive.
What exactly did you stop?
We have tried to find a compromise in areas where we have clashed in the past. Change the approach, make the situation more transparent. Not to drag out investors unnecessarily long in places where we knew there would be no change. On the contrary, it is possible quickly in brownfields, where construction is necessary.
Apartments in the Czech Republic won’t just get cheaper. At least not the new ones
Reality
Representatives of cities, developers, economists and lawyers attended the first breakfast of the Realitní Club, organized by the server newstream.cz. The main question was how much the frozen construction procedure is contributing to high real estate prices. “Until the construction procedure is unblocked, prices will certainly not drop. And I believe that building materials are really becoming cheaper,” explained foreigner Marcela Fialková from the Czech Republic of the development company UDI, which, even due to the lengthy construction process, is increasingly oriented towards the markets.
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In the Czech Republic, such a nuisance has become rampant – lengthy construction procedures. It is partly a matter of state administration, partly of self-government. What did you do to speed up permits in Prague?
We changed what was within our competence, i.e. the spatial plan. We have been calling for a change in the Building Act for a long time in the areas under the transferred competence of the state administration. However, the Ministry of Regional Development is acting very slowly in this regard. The municipality is only a participant in the process of granting a building permit and zoning decision, and it wants to support good buildings in a significant way, and there is really a very small percentage where it opposes construction plans.
Why should the city have a company like PDS if it doesn’t have construction companies and will end up hiring developers anyway?
In the past, I have intensively visited cities such as Munich or Hamburg, which are known for their cultured construction. All of Western Europe has different forms of urban construction. It would be a sin if Prague got rid of its own land, of which it does not have many, and did not use it as a basis for urban development. At the same time, I realize that we need sensible developers to create a quality urban environment.
Exprimátorka Krnáčová in the podcast: The city circuit belongs underground. It is a mistake that Vlasta did not follow up on Blanka
Policy
Prague needs the continuation of the Blanka tunnel, but where to get the money for it? “Whatever I think about Pavlo Bém, I always admired him for being able to push through such a well-chosen building as Blanka. Miracle. I expect the new representation to follow up with Vlasta,” says her former mayor Adriana Krnáčová in the second part of Marcela Fialková’s podcast Nekorektní dvojka on the topic of transport in Prague.
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Will it affect the price of apartments when Prague builds some?
In the long term, this will affect the level of apartment prices, but building is a complex process, it takes a long time and there are no magic tricks. The only guide that cities have known for thousands of years is simply gradual and responsible work.
The city developer will be faster
In the past, you have stated that the approval process for city development company projects can be faster than for projects by private investors. How is it possible?
Because he is more empathetic and doesn’t go overboard. He is looking for a deal that matches the amount of square footage and does not try to maximize profit. I don’t want to say that it is primarily wrong for a private investor, but it is often the reason for conflict.
Does the new metropolitan plan exploit high-rise construction?
High-rise construction has been a heated debate involving various actors. They are often catastrophic scenarios, for example, about UNESCO removing Prague from its list. The debate took place within the professional public and concerns about high-rise buildings clearly prevailed.
Apartment prices are starting to fall around the world. Will they join Prague and Brno?
Reality
London, Sydney, Stockholm, Seattle and the nearby US-Canada border. These areas are among the hottest real estate markets in the world. But the situation is starting to change, and houses and apartments have already begun to decline in many of them. Not even ten percent. What is the situation in Prague and other Czech cities?
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When creating a metropolitan plan, a vision for a city that, according to Eurostat, could have up to two million inhabitants in the future, the most important thing is to seek agreement. We discussed high-rise construction with the Ministry of Culture, as well as with UNESCO. The metropolitan plan has tools prepared in it, which will enable changes to the territorial plan in specific places, for specific purposes.
Wouldn’t it be more transparent if the locations designated for high-rise construction were clearly defined? Is Pankrác often mentioned in this context?
There are such locations, for example, in Prague 9 or Bubny. There was the most debate about Pankrác. It cannot, however, as often happens, be compared to La Défense in Paris, which is an independent part of Paris with a population of two million and has its own plan. Pankrác is not La Défense. Pankrác is one of Prague’s important hills within the UNESCO protection distance. Even the first concept of the Metropolitan Plan, written by Roman Koucký, wisely protected the Vinohrady skyline and placed houses up to 70 meters high on Žižkov and Pankrác, which is now so built up that no house can fit there anymore.
A skyscraper? In twenty or thirty years
And will Prague ever have a skyscraper?
Maybe in twenty to thirty years. When an investor comes who builds a hundred-meter house, he can do it. Because from a technical, investment and architectural point of view it is a masterpiece and not everyone can do it. So far, we don’t have anyone in Prague who would be able to implement high-quality high-rise buildings with great architectural emphasis in large numbers. Some may have those ambitions, but the lack of apartments at the moment is not caused by a lack of high-rise buildings.
Will the Metropolitan Plan ever be approved, or will it drag on for another four years and make changes and still not be done?
Head of Prague planners: Prague needs to put money elsewhere. The state should also participate in the financing of the metro
Reality
“Everyone says that Prague is rich, it will build everything itself, but we need to put the money elsewhere,” says Ondřej Boháč, director of the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague, in the second part of the Realitní Club podcast series. Listen to the entire episode on Monday at newstream.cz in podcast applications.
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I believe that when my colleagues study the Metropolitan Plan, they will understand what it is all about, that the city circuit without the approval of the Metropolitan Plan is difficult to implement, and that it is very wise to approve it, perhaps even after some modifications.
Prague’s budget has doubled over the past 20 years. Nevertheless, it is constantly heard from the councilors that Prague has little money, and that is why it has not yet paid off, or could not build its own housing. Where does the money go?
The city’s investments are really significant. And now we are in a situation where everything will become even more expensive. In addition, budgetary discipline must be maintained, from which, among other things, it follows that Prague cannot take out a loan larger than its resources. The solution in the case of city apartments can be their construction from a different credit framework than from the Prague credit framework. For example, in Hamburg there are limited liability companies, in Berlin there are joint stock companies.