The repair of Šlechtova Restaurant will be completed by the company Geosan for 104 million crowns

Prague - The renovation of the Šlechtova restaurant in Stromovka will be completed by Geosan Group for 104.3 million crowns without VAT. It won the tender for the second phase of the reconstruction of the historic building. The result of the selection procedure was decided today by the Prague councilors. The first part of the repairs started in 2017 and ended four years later. It primarily included the repair of the main hall. The company is now to complete the remaining interior spaces, construct food services, repair the colonnade, and the gazebo.

The estimated value of the contract was 144.9 million crowns without VAT. The city received offers from five companies. The lowest was submitted by Geosan Group. The commission was initially not satisfied with its offer. According to the reasons report, commission members found exceptionally low offered prices for some items and deficiencies in formal details. After supplementing the information, the commission decided that Geosan Group met all conditions.

The subject of the contract is the completion of the building so that it can be put into operation. Inside, it is necessary to build, among other things, partitions, water and electricity distribution systems, an elevator, and complete surfaces. The facility will include a restaurant, a pastry shop, and a garden restaurant, as well as a colonnade, a gazebo, and also a separate restroom building.

"Our effort is to complete it as soon as possible. Maintaining a building that is not in operation costs something and logically raises a number of questions about why it has still not been finished," said Prague councilor for finance Zdeněk Kovářík (ODS). According to him, the reason for the delays is the underestimation of the costs for reconstruction. "It was not possible to progress further in the original competition than what was achieved. Therefore, it was necessary to announce another competition," explained Kovářík.

The first phase of the reconstruction was accompanied by disputes between the city and the contractor, Pracom, over the payment of additional works. The councilors approved a settlement agreement with the company in September 2021. They decided to pay the company 160.9 million crowns including VAT, which is about 38 million more than the original price. The Prague representatives decided in May 2024 to issue a tender for the second phase of the repairs, and the actual tender was announced by the city hall about a year later.

Delays during the reconstruction of the Šlechtova restaurant have repeatedly been criticized by the opposition ANO and Prague Sobě at council meetings. "What the previous coalitions of the Pirates and Prague Sobě failed to delay and ruin, the Pirates completed with ODS. For almost four years they were unable to finalize the selection of a contractor for the prepared project. And now, a few months before the elections, it suddenly starts to move," said the head of Prague's ANO movement, Ondřej Prokop, today.

The monumentally protected building of Šlechtova restaurant was built in the 17th century as a Baroque summer palace for Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg. In 1882, it was rented by Václav Šlechta, who opened a restaurant there. His descendants operated it until World War II. After the war, the restaurant was nationalized. The building deteriorated since 1950, and in the 1960s, the restaurant was closed due to its emergency condition. The facility burned down in 1978 and 1980, and in 2002 it was damaged by floods. The building has been monumentally protected since 1958.