At the end of April, the Prague City Assembly approved a major change to the zoning plan, giving the green light to housing construction on the second largest brownfield site in the capital. Following this, the developer Sekyra Group bought land worth more than CZK 2.2 billion from České dráhy. In the coming years, the grounds of the former Žižkov Freight Station will become a cosmopolitan district offering its residents not only housing, but also new educational institutions and a cultural centre. The transformation will follow an urban planning study approved in 2022.
The future face of Žižkov
Today, Praguers see the Žižkov Freight Station as a neglected, underused location. Yet it lies in the centre of the capital, and its strategic location in the Prague 3 district will be an important factor for many future residents when deciding where to buy and set up a new home. Thanks to the fundamental transformation of the disused railway halls and outdoor areas criss-crossed by tracks into a residential zone, life will return to this part of Žižkov – more than 20 years after the sprawling complex ceased to serve its original purpose.
Today's Žižkov landmarks include the television tower and Vítkov hill with the National Memorial. In the future, a modern residential district will join them
A city within a city
In spring 2025, Sekyra Group acquired land covering 96,000 square metres. Under a project named Žižkov City, it will build 3,000 apartments for roughly 6,000 residents in the southern part of the site. The total investment will come to around CZK 25 billion. The company will contribute CZK 624 million towards public amenities in the area. Developers active on the grounds of the former station also include FINEP, Penta, MY Park and Central Group. The last of these has already started building the first apartment buildings under the name Rezidence Parková čtvrť, located on the Basilejské náměstí side. The new centre of Žižkov will become home to a total of 20,000 residents. Roughly 95% of the area will be used for housing, complemented by parks and green spaces, five nursery schools, two primary schools, sports grounds and cultural venues. Public amenities will largely be financed by investors, whose combined contribution amounts to CZK 1.4 billion. The project also includes the refurbishment of public spaces in Jana Želivského and U Nákladového nádraží streets.
The Žižkov brownfield covers 71 hectares. The new city district will therefore be roughly three times larger than Smíchov City, already taking shape in Prague 5
A new model of cooperation
So-called planning agreements made it possible to arrange for each of the development companies to finance a different part of the public infrastructure, so that the new district has everything its residents need for a comfortable life. This is one of the first uses of such comprehensive agreements between the capital, the relevant city district and several investors at once. Planning agreements were not widely used in the past, but today they represent an effective tool for legally anchoring cooperation on residential construction. This is thanks to their more precise definition in the new Building Act, in force since last summer. They usually set out the terms of cooperation between the municipality and the developer in carrying out a construction project. A textbook example of their use is precisely the situation where a developer needs changes to the zoning documentation and subsequently has to increase the capacity of the infrastructure to which the new residential development will be connected.
Sustainable development of Prague
The transformation of the former freight station grounds will give Žižkov an entirely new face and marks a significant step towards the sustainable development of the whole capital. The modern residential zone will bring not only quality housing, long in short supply in Prague, but also the necessary infrastructure and amenities. For instance, construction of the Olšanská – Habrová tram line, on which the city will likewise work together with investors, should begin in 2026. The functionalist station building from the 1930s, a listed heritage site, will become a symbol of the transformation and the natural centre of the new city district. Prague bought the historic building for CZK 1.4 billion at the end of 2024. It is set to house a social and cultural centre, while other parts will be converted into an educational campus, office space and municipal apartments. An approach similar to the one used for the revitalisation of the Žižkov Freight Station could also be applied to other planned housing projects in Prague. Transforming disused areas through thoughtful development involving the city, the relevant district and a development company is an option for the brownfield site known as Bubny-Zátory in Holešovice as well. Or for the considered redevelopment of the Letňany airfield into a residential or office zone. Are you considering buying an investment property to rent out, but worried about the administrative hassle and the time spent arranging minor repairs around the home? Write to sales@flatservice.cz or call +420 277 000 330 and we will gladly explain how professional property management works. At FLAT SERVICE we also offer the special Garant service, under which your monthly rent arrives in your account under all circumstances. We take on the risk of an unpaid payment from the tenant or a vacant apartment ourselves.
