The long-delayed project of developing an attractive approach road to the hilltop Bratislava castle got a boost last month, when a private developer acquired the majority stake in the company that has the property rights for Zámocká ulica (Castle street).
The Bratislava-based company, Huma 90 s.r.o., paid 105 million Sk ($3.1 million) to buy 90 percent of the city's shares in the joint stock company Zámocká a.s., obtaining the right to revive the picturesque path to the castle.
Huma 90 is now responsible for developing the street and selling potential buyers on their vision for the "Parliamentary Zone," encompassing 45,000 m2 divided into 52 parcels. Jaroslav Kachlík, the president of Huma 90, an architect and a member of Bratislava's City Council, has grandiose plans for those parcels. He said shops, embassies, banks and luxury apartments are envisioned.
Milan Vajda, the spokesman for City Hall, said the first buildings on Zámocká ulica could be up by the end of next year, but stressed that "We cannot expect to have the entire street finished at one time." He added that just how quickly the street develops "depends on how successful Huma 90 will be in finding tenants or buyers."
Kachlík responded that should not be a problem. "We haven't launched our marketing campaign yet, and we have already received a lot of interest," he said.
Before the city awarded the shares to Huma 90, it had already embarked on the "zero phase" of construction, preparing the site for underground parking facilities.
The street's surface value and look will be determined by the investors Huma 90 attracts, but Vajda said the city intends for the buildings there to be three-story structures preserving the character of the Old Town.
"We would like to retain some influence," Vajda said, "but with 10 percent, there is not much control." In general, Vajda said, Mayor Peter Kresánek is very excited about making the lane that winds up the hill into "an entryway to the castle," one of the city's leading tourist destinations. "Now people are taking many different, ridiculous routes up to the castle."
