As it acquired the brownfield site in 2019, Corwin knew Palma would take years to complete. While the former industrial required no decontamination work, the planning needed to create a vision for the location — and to secure the necessary planning permits — was always going to be a lengthy process. Five years later and the biggest conceptual questions have been answered. Inspired by the site’s unusually strong public transportation connections, Corwin sought the expertise of one of Europe’s leading studios in urban planning: Gehl Architects. The resulting plans for Palma clearly reflect the investor’s commitment to car-free communities.
“Gehl’s idea is to get rid of cars from public spaces, so all the cars will use a slow ring road around the area leading to entries into the underground garage,” explains development manager Sofia Lichvárová. “We want them to get there as quickly as possible so you have space for pedestrians and cyclists above. With no parking lots above ground there’s room for green spaces and places to walk.” It’s also about creating a safe environment for the future community’s most vulnerable members. “This way your kids can run to the shop, go to the square, or play on the playground without being threatened by cars.”
Of course, it will take some time yet before children are running around Palma in large numbers. Along with unresolved planning issues, that’s because the project’s office and retail component will have to be built first. From a commercial sense, residential would make more sense, but “That’s what the land use permit allows,” says Lichvárová. “These are the limits we have to work within.”
Palma is not in a prime office location. But the site is served by public transport in multiple ways, including a direct tram line to the center, two nearby train stations and another one (TIOP Mladá Garda) to be built next door. “We really want to ensure that all the modes of transport are supported and that it’s easy to get to Palma,” says Lichvárová.
“Last November, we handed over the revised urban study to the city for assessment, and we’re actively talking with them to push the process forward in order to change the land use plan.” Just getting to that point required four years of extensive give-and-take between the developer and city planning authorities. “I really think that we’ve created a project that could serve as a model for how to redevelop brownfields.” Corwin has begun the process of changing the land use, but this will need to be approved by the city council before the developer can move on to securing permits for the project.
An important part of the process has been creating a dialogue with people and communities around Palma. After all, the new public space isn’t being designed to serve only the people who either live, or work in it. Corwin has regular events at the site that serve as ways to keep the space alive in the minds of people around Palma. But they’re also an opportunity to communicate with them about current investment plans and to solicit new ideas. “Not everybody’s going to work here and not everybody’s going to live here,” says David Sim, founder of Softer (and the former creative director of Gehl Architects. “But many people will be invited into and visit this place. So, the streets, the square, the green spaces will be very important. And the heart of this project will be high quality public space that’s really inviting and attractive.”
Like most developers of brownfield sites, Corwin had to make careful decisions about which of the existing buildings to leave standing and which to knock down, a step that was completed in 2022. The project’s major public spaces will be oriented around the four remaining buildings. These visual reminders of the past will enable the city to retain some of its heritage while lending the site a unique character that new construction can’t replicate. Lichvárová says this is line with the basic urbanism principles promoted by Gehl Architects. “We see Palma as our legacy project, so we want it to be the best it can be.”
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