Today, an industrial wasteland. Tomorrow, a thriving slice of metropolitan life.

That's the plan for Vysočany, a dreary area of Prague 9 that slid into neglect and disrepair after machinery factories on-site went belly-up in the 1990s.

Now, a group of developers has embarked upon transforming the area into a revitalized "city in a city," as they've dubbed New Vysočany, which they envision as a trendy residential and commercial neighborhood complete with parks and shops.

"People pass by us in the metro every day," says Jakub Sklenka, chairman of CODECO, one of the primary companies involved at the site. "We need to build up the city and give people a reason to get out of the metro and visit us here."

"We're confident the area of New Vysočany will become the next center of Prague because of ... the great changes that are going on here," says Pavla Temrová, spokesperson for FINEP, which is building a large residential complex in the area.

Other companies involved include ABLON, which is developing a six-hectare plot on the Vysočany site, creating 105,000 square meters of office, retail and residential space. NITRO B1 will be building Nad Rokytkou Gardens, a villa-style complex containing 200 modern flats.

Meanwhile, the government will play a supporting role by developing a park along the Rokytka River, which runs directly through the Vysočany area. Paved walking and cycling paths and sport facilities will be built at an estimated expense of $100 million Kč ($4.5 million U.S.), with the EU expected to pick up about half the cost.

In total, the cost of the entire revitalization process is an estimated 60 billion Kč, according to Sklenka.

A structured approach

The New Vysočany project is part of a larger initiative to revitalize brownfield sites across the country.

Brownfields, manufacturing or agricultural sites that are deserted or underused, are a particular problem in industrial parts of the country like Ostrava and the Ústí region, but dot the Prague landscape as well. In the past few years, studies have estimated that the city has 850 –1,000 hectares of brownfield land, mainly around railroads and in outlying areas of Prague 5 and 9.

Brownfields began to blight the Czech landscape especially after centralized industry and collective farming were abandoned after the transition from a state-owned to a privatized economy. The sites are often passed over by developers, because they're expensive to clean up or are contaminated with industrial waste.

According to plans for New Vysočany, sites where factories once churned out tram cars and World War II-era tanks will be wide boulevards lined with trees and cafés, open pedestrian spaces, blocks of flats, retail shops and modern commercial centers. When all the work in the area is completed, there will be places to live, work, play and shop for an estimated 40,000 people, Sklenka says.

Brownfields expert Jiřina Jackson believes coordinated projects like New Vysočany are an important step in targeting the Czech Republic's brownfield problem. "This is what is needed," she declared. "You need to take a structured approach to it, or you will create a mess."

Jackson spearheads a program targeting brownfields at the Prague-based Institut pro udržitelný rozvoy sídel (Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, or IURS). The non-profit advocacy group has placed the issue at the forefront of their agenda.

The Czech government has recognized the problem, but improvement is needed in how it approaches a solution, according to Jackson. "The government needs to improve integration of its brownfield efforts, the infrastructure, the education about the problem," she says. "[It's] not there yet."

A strong market

Major brownfield development projects like New Vysočany are now able to gain footing because of strong market conditions.

"Because we have a buoyant economy, it's creating a need for more and more developed space," Jackson says. "When the economy tightens, the brownfield sites will start to suffer.... Developers will look toward sites that are more standard and have more guarantee."

Sklenka hopes that appetite for space stays strong. His company will likely be the largest investor in New Vysočany, sinking an estimated 15-20 billion Kč into its development of the site revolving around the Kolbenova metro station.

Change won't come overnight, however. The first step will be upgrading the existing building above the metro station, adding modern commercial space for tenants that will include a Delvita supermarket. This should be completed by the end of this year.

Once the government finishes cleaning up residual oil and chemical contamination around Kolbenova, new construction can begin, likely in 2007 or 2008. A new building will be started every three to four years, with the full transformation complete by 2010, Sklenka says.

On the southern half of Vysočany, construction has already begun on New Harfa, FINEP's new residential complex. A total of 2,000 flats will be built in four stages at a cost of 2 billion Kč. The first phase, New Harfa I, is already 80 per cent sold. Construction began in 2005 and the building should be ready for occupancy by next spring, according to FINEP spokesperson Temrová.

"This area ... is going through unbelievable change and will dramatically improve in the next few years," she says.

A source of inspiration

New Vysočany developers look to a similar area targeted for revitalization in Prague's recent history for their inspiration, Sklenka says.

"Ten years ago, Smíchov was exactly the same way Vysočany is now, but they cleaned it up and built a new city. We want to go the same way Smíchov did."

Besides history, the site has location on its side. Though outside the city center, the area is located directly on top of the B metro line, with good access to the highway and Libeň railway station. And perhaps most lucrative in the developers' eyes is the Rokytka River, which runs along the area's southern boundary and was untainted by the years of industrial work nearby. The green space is expected to be a major draw for area residents.

New Vysočany still faces major hurdles. The wait can be long for the government funds to clean up contamination. Getting permits and licenses for construction is complicated, and legal hurdles abound.

Overcoming the site's historical reputation as a grim industrial center will also be a challenge.

"If you ask 10 people on the street today what they think about when they think about Vysočany, they'll say, 'Dirty, ugly, industrial,'" admits Sklenka. "If you ask 10 people about Smíchov, they'll say 'Modern, nice, shopping center.' But 10 years ago, it was, 'Gypsies, awful, dirty.' We need to do the same [transformation] for Vysočany."

"The industrial history [is something] that every development company has to fight with," says Temrová. "The main aim is to change the whole image of this location ... so that people start to see it as a nice place to live and to raise children in the future."

Sklenka believes the area's industrial legacy can even be transformed into one of its selling points. Current plans, for example, include turning an abandoned rail line into a cycling path.