A Smaller Apartment, One More Floor: City Lofts’ Solution for Expensive Land in Prague

Land prices in Prague have tripled since 2014, and the supply of new apartments cannot keep up with demand. Developer GARTAL is responding to this in the City Lofts project with a simple solution—instead of a larger apartment, it offers a more efficient two-story layout. What does such an apartment look like, and what does it say about the direction the Prague residential market is heading?

The City Lofts Project: A Smaller Floor Plan, One More Floor

New Project City Lofts offers two-story units with a living area on the ground floor and bedrooms in the attic, connected by an internal staircase. A typical 2kk apartment has 43 m² spread over two levels and costs 7.5 million CZK. According to co-owner Rostislav Petčenko, even though construction only began this year, over 40% of the units — completion is scheduled for 2027, and prices continue to rise as construction progresses.

The Philosophy of Efficient Floor Plans

GARTAL is built on the principle that floor plan efficiency is key, not the size of the apartment. After all, an extra five square meters today costs a prospective buyer approximately 750,000 CZK — the company therefore optimizes layouts so that buyers do not pay for unusable hallways or dead corners. This is a pragmatic response to a market that, according to Petčenko, is currently driven largely by investors calculating rental yields, rather than by families looking for a place to live.

The company is banking on the fact that the shortage of supply will continue: according to Petčenko, slow permitting processes and rising financing costs will keep prices of new apartments consistently above 200,000 CZK/m².

Smart Technologies in the Residential Segment, Too

City Lofts will implement technologies more commonly found in commercial projects—license plate recognition at garage entrances, building access via cell phone, and app codes for visitors. At the same time, the company is banking on a more distinctive architectural style that stands out among the prefabricated housing in Prague 11—Petčenko explains that if a developer has the opportunity to build something more attractive, why wouldn’t they take advantage of it?

Zdroj: ThePrime.cz