By Jana Donovan

For the Post

For three decades, it was a rubbish pile. Now, Rohanksý ostrov in once-gritty Karlín is poised to take yet another step in a remarkable transformation from garbage dump to world-class property development.

River City Prague, the mega-project that is reclaiming the island and in the process reshaping Karlín, is set to break ground on a third major office complex following Nile House and Danube House, the two architectural gems already erected by Austrian-based developers Europolis.

Amazon Court, a 1 billion Kč ($45.9 million) complex on which construction is slated to begin late this year, features a nod to its tropical name: The lobby will be a giant atrium, brimming with plants and shrubs framed by glass. A labyrinth of outdoor and indoor bridges will link the atrium to the building's main wings. Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2008.

Petr Urbánek, Europolis director in the Czech Republic, says Amazon Court has been designed to symbolize a bridge between Western and Eastern Europe. But he acknowledges a more literal bridge: the rainbow-shaped one that bends over Rohanské nábřeží and remains the sole link between River City Prague and Karlín, whose tight-knit community and dilapidated belle époque buildings are also being transformed by the project.

"We want the old Karlín neighborhood to become a part of the new development at Rohanský ostrov," says Urbánek. "That is the company's philosophy. We want a connection, not a separation." But that, like the project itself, is still a work in progress.

A vital neighborhood

On a recent Saturday morning, Karlín was alive with local families doing their shopping and children playing in the streets. It's a real neighborhood, with many of the run-down historic buildings restored to their original beauty with redone facades. It's light years removed from the gritty "black soul" of Karlín — the one that Ivan Hlas, a popular singer, used to croon about back in the bad old days.

"Much has been done for the neighborhood since the floods of 2002," says Marie Milušková, who was out for a stroll. A Karlín resident for more than 40 years, Milušková is among many in the area to express satisfaction over recent developments. "I think Danube House especially is beautiful," she says. "And I'm happy something is finally being done about Rohanský ostrov." But not all the local pub chat is positive.

Martin Rousar, a 47-year-old antique shop owner, says River City Prague and Karlín are separated by "a strained dividing line." He had hoped for lower buildings "that would fit in more with the old neighborhood," and says some locals refer to Danube House, which is shaped like a ship and was partly flooded in 2002, as "Titanic."

"It was swimming up to the first floor," Rousar says.

Yet the 20,000 square-meter-plus building, which has won several awards, including one at France's prestigious MIPIM Cannes for best office building, is hardly sinking. Indeed, as the entire project is completed over the next few years, both Danube House and Nile House will be joined by an array of other cutting-edge buildings that together will make up River City Prague. When it's finished, the entire development will cost some 4 billion Kč.

Construction has already begun on River Diamond, a complex that will include 230 luxury apartments, restaurants, shops, parking and a green space. There are also plans to build a four-star hotel and yet another luxury residential complex.

For now, the stately Danube and Nile houses stand alone, side-by-side, as if protecting one another. In front of them is a small piazza with a fountain whose calm murmur seems to be in synchronicity with the river. A red sign on a street lamp indicates the street as Karolínská, which, as a nearby billboard notes, commemorates Empress Karolína Augusta, wife of Emperor Franz I. Prague's first suburb, Karlín, was named in her honor.

On the same billboard is another large notation: "Welcome!"

Environmentally friendly

Danube House, which has inspired Amazon Court's Danish design firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen, has a facade made of red Chinese sandstone. It also has a soaring atrium at its heart, an enormous space topped by a glass ceiling. The metal-and-glass interior is softened by fountains, green plants and benches for resting. Bright with natural light, it offers a wide view of the Vltava River and Prague Castle. The bottom floor has shops, restaurants and cafés sporting pseudo-chic names like Foodoo and La Florista.

There's another dimension to the buildings that may not be immediately obvious. "The company uses only environmentally friendly materials," says Urbánek. For example, the hardwood floors are not made from trees in endangered rain forests. And the round glass towers outside the building, which may look like some kind of modern art pieces, actually supply the building with fresh air. The air is taken from outside, then treated and distributed throughout the building. Urbánek says the technology is not only harmless to the environment, but also cuts air treatment costs by half.

Yet developers were keen to improve on Danube House, and believe they will do so with Amazon Court, for which Europolis isn't doing any pre-leasing, instead waiting till the building is finished (with prices expected at around 17 euros [$22/477 Kč] per square meter). "There won't be any horizontal disturbances [like elevator shafts or staircases] in the atrium," Urbánek says of the new building, which will comprise some 23,000 square meters (247,570 square feet). "The atrium space will resemble a passage in Old Town and it will be used as a shortcut for passers-by when they want to escape from the rain, for example."

Strategic location

Rohanský ostrov is hardly the only place in Eastern European where Europolis has left its mark. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has a 35 percent stake in the Viennese firm, which is the real estate arm of Investkredit Bank AG. So it's no surprise that its portfolio boasts award-winning office buildings, logistics parks and shopping centers from Austria and the Czech Republic to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Croatia.

In Prague, developers say they seized on the Karlín area because of its strategic location just outside Old Town. "The city center is already too small to meet all demands for new offices, hotels, etc.," says Urbánek. "It will expand in the most natural direction — toward Karlin."

The massive flood of July 2002 caused major damage in the neighborhood, which along with Kampa was the hardest-hit area of the city. And flooding remains a potential problem, despite major improvements such as a new drainage system and barriers along the Vltava.

Nevertheless, Urbánek is not overly concerned. "The city has taken a lot of measures," he says. "If it happens again, it certainly won't be to the same extent as in 2002."

Back in his antique shop, Martin Rousar remains skeptical. "The floods will come again, sooner or later," he says without hesitation. "That is why this neighborhood will never be rich. And that is good, because our community will stay here."

And what a community it will be.