Richard Janáč

Trenčín · M. R. Štefánik Park

The story of the building in the park

A building below Trenčín Castle that we didn't buy in 2023, and did buy two years later. Today it is home to coworking, a gelato shop and café, a studio and accommodation.

Written by Richard Janáč

The white vParku building with a red roof and a semicircular window, people walking past, the terrace by the glass section on the left.
vParku today. In front, Velice x Little Paddock; on the left, the glass section with Fleck coworking.
01Years before

It started on Mierové námestie

For years, Samuel and I built a business together and, alongside it, our own projects. The common point was always Paddock on Mierové námestie.

Samuel rented a space right behind Paddock for his agency. A studio started there and, because we all needed somewhere to work, a coworking space too.

The coworking grew and moved three times before it settled in the park.

02The search · 2023

Buildings that didn't work out

For what we do, it made sense to have our own space. Getting there took years.

The most ambitious plan was to save a national cultural monument at Mierové námestie 17. We prepared the Pavlač project for it, in which our activities were meant to support each other. The building has 2,700 m², and we had one café and an agency with a coworking space. The investment was high, and it wasn't enough for a project like that.

Next came another building on Mierové námestie, then a building on Námestie sv. Anny, and finally the building in the park, the former Markus restaurant.

In 2023 it was up for sale. We didn't have enough equity and the seller wasn't willing to wait for a loan, so the purchase fell through.

In hindsight, that was a good thing. Had we bought the building in 2023, there would have been no capital left for the bigger Paddock at Mierové námestie 19, whose rebuild started at the end of that year.

Success stories tend to underestimate the role of luck. We had our share too. What matters is giving it chances and trying again.

The building in summer before the purchase, the Škoda Classic Cars museum sign, a parasol and grass below the castle rock.
A grey building with Café open and Marcus Café signs, two men coming out of the door.
A glass hall with historic Škoda cars and a turnstile at the museum entrance.
The original café with wooden slats on the ceiling, a grey and a red historic car and colourful windows.
Before the purchase. The building housed a café and a museum of historic Škoda cars.
032025

Second attempt

Two years later the building was up for sale again, and the second attempt worked.

It came at the right time. From the first attempt we knew what the bank needs: a loan lined up, quick communication and a plan that holds up. This time we were ready.

04September 2025

The keys

In September 2025 we got the keys and the renovation began. We went step by step: the coworking first, then the upper floor and finally the café.

A grey building with the old Markus sign, construction waste and pallets in front.
The start of the renovation, with the original Markus sign still on the facade.
A large empty space with a dark wooden ceiling, a worker sweeping the concrete floor.
An empty room with a black ceiling, new wooden window frames and a concrete floor.
16 Oct 2025 The park during the renovation.
A room with red radiators, wooden window frames, flowers on the windowsills and a rolled-up carpet.
A room with new radiators.
The long coworking hall with a dark slatted ceiling, a windowsill covered in foil and the first chairs.
The coworking hall being prepared.
The building today: a white facade, a black arched window in the roof and the entrance to Velice x Little Paddock with a terrace. The building before the renovation: a grey facade with the Marcus Café sign, next to the entrance to the Škoda Classic Car museum. Before After
Drag sideways. The building in the park before the renovation and today.
051 December 2025

The coworking first

The first deadline was clear: on 1 December the coworking would move from Mierové námestie into its own space. We kept the deadline.

Regular members moved in while construction was still going on. Noise, dust, internet outages and unreliable heating, we dealt with it all on the go. Thank you for your patience.

The coworking took over the first part of the building, and the first goal was met.

30 Dec 2025 A month after the move. The facade already white.
Coworking members sitting at a long table having lunch together, windows onto the park behind them.
The coworking with desks by the windows onto the park, one member working at a computer.
The coworking up and running, with a view of the park.
06Then

The upper floor

Then we moved on to the upper floor. A meeting room, accommodation, an office and a studio took shape.

Today the upper floor is home to our friends from Attic Studio, and the building also offers accommodation at Studio v parku.

The Attic Studio workshop in the attic: a metal chair on a Persian rug in sharp sunlight, the sign attic spotlight.
A room at Studio v parku in the attic: a bed with a light blanket, two skylights and pictures on the wall.
The attic meeting room with a sloping ceiling, skylights looking into the treetops, a long table and a cabinet.
The upper floor today. The Attic Studio workshop, a room at Studio v parku and the attic meeting room.
071 April 2026

Velice x Little Paddock

The last empty space was the future café. The answer came from our long friendship with Velice, in our view the best gelato far and wide.

On 1 April 2026, four months after the coworking moved in, we opened Velice x Little Paddock, a gelato shop and café in one (@velice.gelato, @little__paddock). The first weeks confirmed that the park needed a place like this.

13 Mar 2026 Final touches around the building.
10 Apr 2026 From the first demolition to a finished café.
A black vParku sign in front of the white building, a woman with gelato walking past.
The vParku sign.
A hand in a pink glove by a gelato cone on a glass counter, cones in the background.
Gelato by Velice.
The Velice x Little Paddock counter with a large menu board, guests waiting at the counter.
The Velice x Little Paddock counter after opening.
People sitting on the gravel terrace by the glass section with the Fleck Coworking sign, the park in the background.
The terrace by the coworking after opening.
08Community

Slobodné pódium

The building came with a shipping container too. Together with the city, we turned it into Slobodné pódium (Free Stage), an open stage in the park for cultural and community events. We launched it on 1 November 2025, and it has hosted around 20 events so far.

It is run by the City of Trenčín and is open to the public around the clock, free of charge. Anyone who wants to play, read, exhibit, dance or organize a get-together can book a slot through the calendar. Events are public, non-commercial and free to attend. It is an example of cooperation between a city and business owners that works.

Years of events were leading exactly here. When you give organizers a setup with fair terms, they come on their own. You don't have to invent events; it is enough to build a space the community will fill.

The park today

The park as part of the city

The building is just one part of the park. This report is about what M. R. Štefánik Park means for Trenčín.

Report about the park by @square_trencin. Original video on Instagram
What I take from it

What we learned

  • Failure is preparation. In 2023 we didn't buy the building. Two years later we knew exactly what the bank needs and how fast we had to move.
  • Start from a real need. The coworking came from a simple need for somewhere to work. The best projects grow from needs like that.
  • Launch before everything is finished. Members moved in during construction and we fixed problems on the go. The perfect moment would never have come.
  • Friendship is a good basis for partnership. Velice x Little Paddock grew out of a long friendship.
  • A vision takes time. It took years to get from the coworking behind Paddock to our own building. Persistence pays off.
To finish

Thank you

Samuel, for a vision he never gave up on. Our partners, for their support. Our families, friends and colleagues.

Monika, Kika, Jakub, Šimon, Chiara, Ekonóm, Martin and the whole Fleck crew.

9 Jul 2026 Cyclists below the castle.
The white vParku building in spring, a bed of red tulips and white daffodils in the foreground.
The park today.
M. R. Štefánik Park

Where to find us