Penta Real Estate has acquired a 50% stake in HoldCo Bubny s.r.o., which owns key land in the Bubny-Zátory area. Penta thus becomes the lead developer of a new, modern urban district that will directly adjoin the attractive lower Holešovice, Letná and the Vltava River itself, and will provide space to live and work for tens of thousands of people. A further 35% is being acquired by AKIPIA, a newly established investment group founded by independent investors Michal Strnad, Tomáš Brzobohatý and Marek Šmrha. The group will focus on attractive market opportunities, combining strong capital backing, flexibility and a long-term investment horizon. The remaining 15% will be retained by the current owner, J&T Group, which will stay in the project as a financial partner. By 2050, a new urban district with approximately 25 blocks and up to 10,000 apartments will be built in Bubny. Total investment costs for the project will reach approximately CZK 90 billion.
The Bubny area is one of the largest undeveloped sites in Prague’s wider city centre. It is designated for a fully fledged urban district where a variety of functions (housing, offices, education, culture) will naturally blend. It lies between the Vltavská and Nádraží Holešovice metro stations, and its total area exceeds 250,000 m². The site also benefits from existing transport infrastructure, including the new Praha-Bubny railway station, which significantly improves its accessibility.
The new district will consist mainly of urban housing, complemented by premium offices, rental and student housing, hotels, shops, services, schools, kindergartens, public amenities, a park and high-quality public space. In total, up to 10,000 apartments could be built here. The project will be delivered in several successive phases through 2050 and will comprise approximately 25 urban blocks. In the future, it will create a new urban district for tens of thousands of residents, visitors and people working in this part of Prague.
“Urban opportunities like Bubny come once in a generation, and for Penta this is a unique chance to create a new piece of Prague for the next hundred years. On a site with the potential for up to 10,000 apartments, we are building on twenty years of experience in developing large transformation areas. In terms of investment, Bubny will be three to four times larger than our largest district to date, Waltrovka, and will clearly be the largest development project in Penta’s history. We don’t want to just build new buildings here, but to create a fully fledged urban district that will turn today’s barrier into a natural part of the city and connect housing, work, services and quality public space. Together with the city and our partners, we will now seek a shared vision for the gradual development of this exceptional area.”
Penta Real Estate’s entry into the Bubny project follows the company’s long-term strategy focused on developing large-scale urban areas and regenerating brownfields. Approximately two thirds of Penta Real Estate’s projects are built on neglected brownfield sites.
“Bubny represents an exceptional investment opportunity with long-term development potential for our newly established group, AKIPIA. We are entering the project alongside experienced partners, with the ambition of contributing to the creation of a fully fledged new urban district that will matter to Prague and to future generations of its residents. The project also fits our intention to build a portfolio of long-term investments, both independently and in cooperation with other investors.”
“We have been following the Bubny area for a long time and see potential for interesting development here. However, this time the investor’s approach prevailed. In the upcoming ownership structure, we will therefore act as a passive investor.”
For decades, the Bubny-Zátory area has been regarded as the largest development reserve in the capital’s wider centre. The new Metropolitan Plan has now opened the way for its transformation into a modern urban district with housing, jobs, civic amenities and high-quality public space.