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ECM to pursue Pankrác project

Despite court ruling, real estate developers cling to original plans

September 10th, 2008 issue

By Stephan Delbos

STAFF WRITER
Czech real estate development company ECM will continue construction of the controversial City Project in the Prague 4 neighborhood of Pankrác despite a court ruling forbidding the widening of local roads.
The municipal court ruling Sept. 5 canceled a 2005 decision from City Hall supported by the Regional Development Ministry that would have allowed the widening of roads to and from the building site, which includes a luxury high-rise apartment and a hotel. The current roads are not wide enough to accommodate the expected influx of traffic in the area.
The ruling would ostensibly force ECM to either downsize its 1.4 billion euro ($2.1 billion/ 34.4 billion Kč) project or abandon it altogether, but the company plans to do neither, citing separate permits that the company believes allows a loophole.
“Actually, this situation doesn’t influence our planned projects at Pankrác,” said Zuzana Doležalová of ECM. “The court has canceled the zoning permit. We still have lawful building permits.”
The company maintains it is too late to downsize the project, which has been in development since 2001. More than 100 luxury apartments have already been reserved in the higher of the two buildings, and changes to the project at this point would incur significant costs to the company.
“We can’t discuss potential losses now, because the whole situation is about speculation. We still believe that we can finish planned projects on time and within planned parameters,” she said.
ECM saw its shares value devastated more than 70 percent in the past year. Projects planned during the 2007 real estate boom are being carried out in harder times, and delays now threaten to scuttle projects altogether.
The environmental group Arnika, a vocal opponent of City Project, led the campaign to cancel the road-widening permit as a way to halt or significantly alter construction.
“The high-rise buildings don’t have permits and they shouldn’t get them now because there is no transportation to the buildings,” said Martin Skalský of Arnika.
Arnika’s complaints are echoed by UNESCO recommendations this August that the planned high-rise buildings be lowered 40 meters or risk being taken off its World Heritage list. But even this straightforward statement has been interpreted differently by City Project’s planners and detractors.
“The UNESCO Committee’s decisions are legally binding for the Czech Republic, which is obliged to comply with them,” says an Arnika press release.
 “UNESCO has [only] recommended that we decrease the buildings,” said Doležalová, and ECM sees no reason to change their plans.
“We have to differentiate between order, regulation and recommendation,” she said.
Stephan Delbos can be reached at sdelbos@praguepost.com


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Reader's comments:

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[12:42 11/09/2008] : Shocking to see that Prague's World Heritage also faces being put at risk by UNESCO. Here in Edinburgh, London Developers Mountgrange have caused a serious risk to Edinburgh's World Heritage status due to their unsuitable development 'Caltongate'. This also seeks to build a 5* hotel , luxuary flats and massive office complex right in the heart of the Old Town.
Whilst most agree some new development is needed in the gap site they created 2 years ago there is significant opposition to the additional demolitions (2 Listed Buildings, a former market building and 18 stone built tenament flats on the Royal Mile) which are required to make the site big enough for all their speculative developments.
Despite 1800 letters of objection, objections from many heritage and community groups, and the threat of being put 'at risk' by UNESCO, Edinburgh council still supports this vandalism. Of course it has nothing to do with the council having agreed to sell this large chunk of land (with Listed buildings, and the market on common good land) to the developers Mountgrange knowing they intend to demolish the lot!
Most frightening is that the Director of Mountgrange, Manish Chande, is also a board member of English Heritage who have a duty to protect the built heritage.
Ima scot
Edinburgh
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