Penta invited seven teams from the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the competition. The jury announced two winners, in addition to Klašek's proposal, the project of the studio OV Architekti also won. "The jury recommended for implementation the design of Jakub Klaška, who was part of the Zaha Hadid Architects team for many years, participated in the Masaryčka building and knows this area intimately," said Pavel Streblov, business director of Penta Real Estate.

The redevelopment will preserve historic architectural features. "Key original parts, such as the vaulted arches on the ground floor, play a pivotal role in the organization of the building and are now also exposed to the public space through the transparent facade of the ground floor," commented the design of its creator, architect Jakub Klaška.

Site of later addition

A four-story building will be built instead of the post office's later extension. On the ground floor, the developer is counting on commercial premises, on the upper floors there will be offices and coworking spaces. The building will have a total area of 7,300 square meters. "The investment will be around half a billion crowns," said Penta Real Estate spokesperson Martin Lánský. Tentatively, the developer expects to start construction in the third quarter of 2025 and to complete the reconstruction in the second quarter of 2027, when the reconstruction of the entire Masaryk railway station should also be finished.

Penta bought the former post office building in Hybernská Street the year before last for 220 million crowns. In the Czech Post electronic auction, the company was the only bidder, so the building was sold for the minimum bid price. The post office originally operated its branch and also a depot in the building, it stopped using it in 2021.

At the beginning of January, Penta started the reconstruction of the Masaryk station itself. The number of tracks will be expanded to nine from the current seven, the tracks will be bridged by a pedestrian platform connecting Hybernská Street with Na Florenci Street. It should be finished in 2027, the construction for 3.39 billion crowns is being implemented by the companies Strabag and Strabag Rail.