The Sofia Municipal Council (SOC) once again supported the report of the mayor of the "Mladost" district Ivaylo Kukurin and municipal councilor Dragomir Ivanov for establishing the right to build a 22-storey building with nearly 60,000 sq. m of developed built-up area on municipal land in the "Mladost" district against compensation in equivalent sites.
The municipal councilors from "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria", Voyslav Todorov from "BSP for Bulgaria" and Vanya Grigorova - independent municipal councilor voted against the construction of the building. Democratic Bulgaria“, “Save Sofia“, “Vazrazhdane“, Voyslav Todorov from “BSP for Bulgaria“ and Vanya Grigorova - an independent municipal councilor.
BTA recalls that on April 30, 34 municipal councilors supported the construction of the 75-meter building.
Following a protest by residents of “Mladost“ and calls by “Save Sofia“ to reconsider the decision, the mayor of Sofia returned the report for reconsideration with an argument for expediency, so that the Municipal Council could hold a new debate in which all arguments related to the development of the region and public expectations would be taken into account. “I want there to be peace of mind that all arguments will be considered carefully and responsibly. The economic interest of the municipality will be protected“, the mayor said two weeks ago.
Today during the debate, Boyko Dimitrov from “We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria“ spoke out against the development in “Mladost“ and called for the protection of the public interest and a review of the SOS decision. He emphasized the dissatisfaction of thousands of residents of the neighborhood against new construction. “We still did not understand what the area will receive in return and what the overall vision for the neighborhood actually is“, said Dimitrov. He warned that behind the terrain of the 22-story building there are more areas planned for development.
Rositsa Nikolova from “Save Sofia“ stated during the discussion that a contract with a mobile operator is longer than the protection of the public interest in the report of Mayor Kukurin. According to her, 92% of the terrain in “Mladost“ is municipal property and the Sofia Municipality cannot protect it. Andrey Zografski added that the development of a city is not measured in meters of concrete. He gave the example of Vienna, where high-rise construction has been moved outside the central parts of the city.
Vojislav Todorov from “BSP for Bulgaria“ expressed disagreement with the construction of the high-rise building in “Mladost“. According to him, the case is symptomatic of the attitude of the SOS towards the residents of the neighborhood. Todorov stated that the councilors must decide whether they are on the side of construction interests or the citizens. His colleague Stanislav Mladenov from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, however, told journalists after the vote that this was “a good deal that will bring serious financial income to the municipality“.
On behalf of over 450 residents of block 326 in “Mladost 3“, which is in close proximity to the site of the future 75-meter building, Mariela Staykova addressed the municipal councilors. She stated that Kukurin's report “broke all records for bureaucratic arrogance“ and was an expression of “merciless construction genocide“ and “administrative shamelessness“. According to her, the mayor of the “Mladost“ district is in a hurry to finalize the process at the end of his term. She added that the feeling of corruption is strong among the residents. According to her, the cutting down of natural greenery and the construction of one of the last municipal lands are unacceptable.