Prague is planning to approve two large property swaps with the state in the coming months, worth CZK 2.2 billion. Councilors supported them on Monday and will still be voted on by deputies. Jan Chabr (TOP 09) said after the meeting.
In the first swap, the city will get the barracks in Karlín, the Bohdalec area, and the building in Hybernská in exchange for the majority of the Na Bulovce hospital.
“It is being shown even now during the refugee crisis that we have a desperate lack of space. We are accommodating people in gymnasiums, and there are empty buildings that are often in a state of disrepair, but they are buildings that could be used for the benefit of Prague,” Chabr explained.
On the state’s side, state-established organizations should use the facilities. “And there could be effective investments in the property,” the councilor added.
In the second exchange, the municipality will swap its plots of land in the Na Homolce Hospital and Faust House in Karlovo náměstí for Veleslavín Castle and another land.
The municipal administration has been negotiating the exchanges with the state for several years. Still, the procedure was blocked under the previous government by the issue of the municipal land in Letňany, which former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) wanted to acquire from Prague to construct a complex for civil servants.
According to Chabr, the negotiations have been unblocked. The Finance Ministry, which is in charge of the exchanges through the Office for State Representation in Property Matters (ÚZSVM), has a positive attitude towards the transactions. He said councilors should vote on the first package in April or May and on the second in June.