Prague's Broadway Palace failed to sell at auction even on the fourth attempt

The fourth attempt to sell Prague's Broadway Palace in an electronic auction ended in failure. The Office for State Representation in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) said today that it will now offer the building to the current tenant at the auction price. The tenant can exercise its right of first refusal within three months.

One bidder has entered the auction and paid a deposit of CZK 20 million. However, no bids were made during the two-day auction. The situation from previous attempts to sell the Broadway Palace was repeated. ÚZSVM held auctions in September 2021, last March and last August.

The functionalist building by architects Bohumír Kozák and Antonín Černý from the 1930s is located between Celetná and Na Příkopě streets near the Republic Square. The building consists of three interconnected tracts. It is one of the largest functionalist new buildings in the historic centre of Prague. At first it served the needs of Italian insurance companies and part of the complex contained apartments. After 1980 the building was adapted for administrative purposes. In 1938, a cinema was opened in the basement of the building with the most modern projection and sound equipment of the time. Today the premises of the functionalist palace are used by the Broadway Theatre.

In accordance with the law, after taking over the building, the Ministry of the Interior offered it first to other state institutions. However, none of them showed interest in it. Therefore, the authority is looking for a new owner through an electronic auction.

The sale of the Broadway Palace could become the largest sale in the history of the Office of the Ministry of the Interior. So far, the state has received the highest amount of CZK 790 million from the sale of the premises on náměstí Republiky in Prague and the sale of the Prague complex U Půjčovny, which sold for CZK 355.1 million after 100 bids.

Source: CTK