City Tower (Prague)

City Tower

City Tower in 2008, shortly before completion
General information
Status Complete
Type office, shops
Location Hvězdova 1716/2b, Prague, Czech Republic
Coordinates 50°03′01″N 14°26′10″E / 50.05028°N 14.43611°E / 50.05028; 14.43611Coordinates: 50°03′01″N 14°26′10″E / 50.05028°N 14.43611°E / 50.05028; 14.43611
Construction started 1985 (halted in 1993, then restarted in 2005)
Completed 2008
Opening 2008
Owner CITY TOWER, s.r.o.
Height
Antenna spire 116 m (381 ft)[1]
Roof 109 m (358 ft)
Top floor 109 m (358 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 27
Floor area 1,850 m2 (19,900 sq ft) usable
Lifts/elevators 18
Design and construction
Architect Richard Meier & Partners, Architects LLP
Developer ECM
References
[2][3]

City Tower is a skyscraper in Prague (Pankrác district), the second tallest one in the Czech Republic with 109 m in height.[1]

Construction started in 1985 and the building was designated as a headquarters of Československý rozhlas (now Český rozhlas; a Czech public radio broadcaster). In 1993 the building was nearly completed, but appeared to be oversized for Český rozhlas (which split from Československý rozhlas after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia), technically obsolete and full of dangerous asbestos.

In later years Český rozhlas tried to sell the uncompleted building. In 1996, an agreement was signed with the company NIKO to sell the building for 1 billion CZK, but subsequently failed to pay the agreed amount. A similar scenario happened one year later with the Singaporean company Wells Holding and an agreed selling price of 550 million CZK. Finally the building was sold in 1999 to the company ECM for just 285 million CZK.

After a long planning process and legislative planning steps the radical reconstruction of the building, designed by Richard Meier, started in 2005 and finished in 2008. On 20 December 2007 the building obtained final building approval. The first tenants started to move into the building at the beginning of 2008.[4] The largest renter is Raiffeisenbank, a.s. which occupies 10 floors of the building with about 1200 employees.[5][6]

In 2009 ECM sold City Tower for €130 millions to unknown investor (according speculations it is Slovak investor). Transaction was backed up by J&T.[7]

References

External links

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