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Activist: High-rise plans will hurt city

ECM development project gets go-ahead from Culture Ministry

By Benjamin Thomas Cunningham
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
September 5th, 2007 issue

ECM Real Estate plans to start building its new residential/office complex on Pankrác Plain after getting the go-ahead from the Culture Ministry Sept. 3, while an activist group vows to continue fighting the project.
Members of Arnika plan to file a lawsuit saying new high-rise buildings could violate the city’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, said Martin Skalský, spokesman for the nongovernmental group.
“For now, we don’t accept the decision. We have only one possibility [of what] to do next, and that’s to take it to court,” Skalský said. “We’re afraid City Hall will try to issue the zoning permission before UNESCO will come.”
Construction details will be announced publicly Sept. 6, said Kateřina Hainzová, spokeswoman for the Prague-based ECM Real Estate company. The ministry’s decision deals with a residential building and a hotel building, Hainzová said. ECM is also redeveloping City Tower, the highest building in Prague at 109 meters (358 feet) at the site, with plans to open it at the beginning of next year, she said.
Some 866 hectares (2,140 acres) of Prague’s historical downtown is a UNESCO World Heritage site, an international designation that brings cachet and tourists. Pankrác Plain, part of the hilly area of Prague 4, does not fall within the official boundaries of the World Heritage area, but it is within a designated buffer zone.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Center plans to send a monitoring mission “very soon” to assess the impact of the new high-rise plans, said Francesco Bandarin, director of the international group. He declined to comment specifically on Prague developments, but said new high-rise buildings have become a big issue in recent years in places such as London and St. Petersburg.
Cultural experts considered all aspects of the historical heritage area and the buffer zone before making the decision, said Daniel Herman, public relations director at the Culture Ministry. The city’s legal magistrate was also involved, he said. The ministry got involved with the development plans in June 2006 when it struck down a previous City Hall approval.
“Some of us argued that the skyscrapers could be not good for the image of Prague as a historic city, but the magistrate did not agree,” Herman said. “Our people responsible for this said, ‘Yes, it’s correct.’ ”

Benjamin Thomas Cunningham can be reached at bcunningham@praguepost.com


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