Translated by Milo Dvorak
1. 2. 2024
Business Newsletter #4
Good morning,
Here is your next Business Newsletter. This time, I've included two articles.
1) (Note: separate article on the web.) The Czech Republic can boast about having brilliant minds in every conceiveable field. But I think it's safe to say that medicine is, historically speaking at least, at the top.
2) If you've ever used the Czech Post services at the Jindrisska building, you'll have noticed the majesty and spatial generousity the interior offers. And you may also have noticed just how inefficient the service unfortunately is, hence why the Czech Post has been trying to slash their operational costs.
Happy reading!
Published by Aktualne.cz on 29 January 2024.
Prague will not buy the main post office building in Jindřišská Street, as the modernisation would be too expensive.
Prague will ultimately not purchase the main building of the Czech Post in Jindřišská Street. According to the city, there is not enough room for the municipality's needs and the modernisation of the facility would be too costly. The Prague City Hall stated this in a press release today. The Post is trying to stabilise its finances by selling properties. In the previous tender for the purchase of the Jindřišská main building starting at 1.538 billion Czech crowns, no bidders appeared at the end of last year. Matyáš Vitík, the spokesperson for the Czech Post, has told ČTK today that the Post still plans to sell the main building and is currently analysing options.
Interested parties were supposed to register for the tender to buy the Post building in Jindřišská by December 20. Otherwise, they could not submit bid envelopes. In early January, the Post announced that no bidder had applied. The Prague City Hall, which had previously expressed interest in several offered Post buildings, had the opportunity to match the highest bid in the selection process for the Post's downtown headquarters. However, the city has announced today that it cannot further compete for the building.
"The main reason is primarily a lack of space for the office while maintaining the Czech Post branch in the building, but also unsuitable layout solutions or the fact that all requirements for building safety are not met," said the city spokesperson Vít Hofman.
According to him, the total floor area of the building in Jindřišská is comparable to the current office spaces, but after subtracting the area needed for the Post branch, the remaining part of the building is insufficient for the municipality. Only after a detailed study of the tender documentation did deficiencies in the layout solution of the building for the municipality's needs become apparent, according to the city's spokesperson. The extent of modifications required for modernisation and related costs exceed the initial assumptions. According to Hofman, the layout of the building also prevents respective operations from operating uninterruptedly, and essential security measures cannot be ensured.
Despite the Post's previous failures, it still plans to sell its current main building and believes that other bidders will emerge. "Our intention to sell the entire property still stands. We are analysing some other options for how to sell the building," said Post spokesperson Vitík. "It's not something we have to rush. As for finances, we are not dependent on whether we sell this building in the short term or not," he added.