Instead of Tesla, apartments and offices will be built in Hloubětín, Prague

Prague - A collection of 17 buildings with apartments, offices, and shops could rise on the site of the former Tesla complex in the Prague district of Hloubětín. The construction is planned by Tesla Properties. The Czech News Agency learned today from documents submitted by the company for assessing the environmental impact of the construction.
    A total of 74,752 square meters of gross floor area is to be designated for housing. This represents approximately 768 apartments. Offices are expected to occupy 24,525 square meters, while over 5,000 square meters is to be allocated for shops. There should also be restaurants and a kindergarten. The tallest buildings in the complex could have up to 12 floors. The existing eight-story building of the former Hloubětín Tesla could be increased by another two floors. Currently, a small production facility is located on the site of the former enterprise.
    "The new use should attract new residents to this area and offer them a comprehensive housing concept with the necessary facilities," the proposers stated.
    Real estate expert Karek Konečný from the investment department of the international consulting firm DTZ views the project as potentially successful. However, it will very much depend on its timing, quality, price level at which it will be sold, and the composition in terms of the ratio of commercial and residential spaces.
    The developer intends to divide construction into five phases. It plans to start construction in January 2011 and to complete the project in June 2015. However, during this time, the project may face serious competition in the area, according to the expert. "If the project starts in 2011, it will have quite a significant competition from Codeco, which owns and is currently revitalizing a large industrial complex near the Kolbenova metro station, where it plans to build several hundred residential units within four to eight years. Another large project that could potentially compete with both of the aforementioned projects is the former Praga site, whose revitalization has been slowed by the crisis," Konečný told ČTK.
    According to the commercial register, the owner of Tesla Properties is the company Kilcullen Tesla Holding from Luxembourg. It also owns the domestic group Tesla Holding, a successor company of one of the first electrical engineering enterprises in the territory of former Czechoslovakia, which was founded in 1921. The Tesla brand has been in operation since 1946.
    Currently, Tesla specializes in the supply of broadcasting technology, military telecommunications technologies, water treatment equipment, solar technologies, and engineering.