Kaprain and Penta Real Estate have entered into a cooperation agreement to build on the former Howden ČKD factory site adjacent to the O2 Arena. Penta bought a 40% stake in the project, which will create a new center of Prague’s Vysočany and Libeň districts on an area of over 50,000 square meters.
“The development on the site of today’s Howden will play a crucial role in the development of Vysočany and Libeň. Together with the Penta team, we will use all the experience we have gathered in our previous two joint projects and all our own projects to build a new modern center for the whole of Prague 9. The entire district will be built in accordance with the concept of the municipal plan change prepared by the municipal district of Prague 9,” says František Dombek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Harfa District and CIO of Kaprain Group.
“We have been successfully working with Kaprain Group for several years in the development near Vítězné náměstí. Vysočany also has great potential, a modern and perfectly accessible district will be developed in the wider city center. We are happy to be involved in it, we will have a 40% stake in the joint venture,” says David Musil, Business Director for Residential & Hospitality Real Estate at Penta Real Estate.
The area affected by the transaction was historically owned by ČKD, with compressor and engine manufacturing taking place there for almost 150 years, most recently under the name Howden ČKD Compressors. This production is now part of the global compressor manufacturer Howden. The manufacturer continues to operate in the Czech Republic, but from a new manufacturing facility in Nehvizdy near Prague.
Kaprain acquired the land in an open tender procedure organized by Colliers, a real estate firm, for Howden.
The construction will be closely coordinated with the municipal district authority. There is an urban planning study for the whole area, which was prepared for Prague 9 by architect Jiří Řezák of Qarta architektura studio. The main hub of the site is going to be Emil Kolben Square, open towards the O2 Arena.