Marek Dospiva, Michal Strnad build new Prague district for CZK 90bn

Marek Dospiva, founder of the Penta Real Estate development group, is becoming the lead developer of one of Prague’s most ambitious projects — the new Bubny-Zátory district, set to rise on the last major stretch of undeveloped land in the city centre. The project is also being joined by a new investment group, Akipia, backed by the richest Czech and owner of the CSG arms holding, Michal Strnad.

Penta Real Estate has bought a 50% stake in HoldCo Bubny, which owns the key plots in this location between the Vltavská and Nádraží Holešovice metro stations. Strnad’s Akipia group will take a 35% stake, while the remaining 15% stays with the previous owner, the J&T group, which now acts only as a financial partner in the project.

The site, covering more than 250,000 square metres, is considered one of the last large undeveloped areas in Prague’s wider centre. According to the developers’ plans, by 2050 it could hold up to ten thousand apartments across roughly 25 city blocks, along with premium offices, rental and student housing, hotels, shops, schools and kindergartens. Total investment in developing the district could reach 90 billion crowns.

“Urban-planning opportunities like Bubny come along once a generation, and for Penta this is a unique chance to create a new piece of Prague for the next hundred years,” said Penta Real Estate CEO David Musil. According to him, in terms of investment volume Bubny will be three to four times bigger than the company’s largest project to date, Prague’s Waltrovka, and will become the biggest development project in Penta’s history.

For the new investment group Akipia, Bubny is one of its first major projects. Besides Strnad, the group is backed by his close associates Tomáš Brzobohatý and Marek Šmrha, who have significantly strengthened the team over the past year. Brzobohatý previously worked closely with PPF founder Petr Kellner, while Šmrha served as investment director at Penta and now heads Strnad’s family investment office.

“Bubny represents an exceptional investment opportunity with long-term development potential for our new group,” said Akipia managing partner Šmrha. Meanwhile, the role of the J&T group is changing: just a few months ago it acquired a large development site from billionaire Radovan Vítek’s CPI Property Group, and is now shifting from majority owner to a passive investor in the project.

The location benefits from infrastructure already in place, including the new Praha-Bubny railway station, which has significantly improved the district’s transport access. Nearby, the Vltava Philharmonic Hall, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and costing around 12 billion crowns, is also set to be built, with construction due to start in 2027.