The scandal surrounding the project for a 22-story building in the capital's "Mladost" district reopened the topic of overdevelopment, the lack of infrastructure and the way in which key decisions for the development of Sofia are made. After Mayor Vasil Terziev returned the decision to the Sofia Municipal Council for a new consideration, public tension around the case intensified even more. Arch. Rositsa Nikolova from "Save Sofia" spoke to FACT.
- Arch. Nikolova, "Save Sofia" called the project in "Mladost" "22 floors of corruption". After Vasil Terziev returned the decision for reconsideration, do you think this is an admission that the SOS made a serious mistake?
- Yes, in my opinion this is an admission that the topic was not well enough defended and argued before the public. When you have such serious public tension, protests and doubts about an unfair development model, the institutions should stop and reconsider the decision. More importantly, this case opened a much larger conversation, namely how Sofia is planned and in whose interest the city is developing.
- What functions did Mayor Terziev take away from the powers of the chief architect when Bogdana Panayotova was removed?
- It is important to know that under the Spatial Planning Act (Spatial Planning Act), the responsibility for urban planning lies with the mayor, but over the years a large part of these functions were left to the chief architect. Back in February last year, Mayor Terziev took back these powers, but so far we have not seen any real effect or clear vision for the development of the city. What we saw was only the transfer of key processes in urban development and planning to new administrative structures and deputy mayoral departments. This case is exactly the moment when the mayor can show real care for the city and the people in the “Mladost“ district. He has the opportunity to order an ex officio amendment to the property plan, so that both the allocation and the development parameters are reconsidered. This depends only on one order from the mayor of Sofia.
- How is it possible to arrive at a proposal for a 22-story building in a district that has been a symbol of overdevelopment and a lack of infrastructure for years?
- This is the result of old development plans and a model of urban development, in which for years the main focus has been on what can be built, and not how people will live afterwards. In “Mladost“ we have a serious deficit of kindergartens, schools, places for parking, green spaces and transport capacity. The area cannot endlessly absorb more and more development without parallel infrastructure.
- The municipality's leadership claims that the economic interest is protected and that Sofia will receive over 26% compensation from the future building. In your opinion, is this a good deal, or is it about replacing the public interest with a financial argument?
- Sofia should not be managed as a property deal, but as a city for the people. A 30% compensation for the future building was adopted, but the public interest cannot be measured only in square meters and percentages, but how this investment improves life in the neighborhood. The question is what do those living in the area get - do they get a better environment, or more traffic, shading and load on the infrastructure. Separately, even 30% may turn out to be a very small percentage of compensation in view of the extremely attractive location and the huge future profit from such a site.
- From “Save Sofia“ you think that this is “one of the most scandalous and corrupt deals“ in the SOS. Do you have any specific suspicions of lobbying or dependencies surrounding this project?
- What raises huge doubts is the way in which such projects are being moved forward in the SOS, namely without sufficient publicity and without real public debate. In this case, we also saw voting in complete synchrony between different parties in the SOS, as well as ignoring the possibility of the topic going through an expert debate in the committee on architecture and urban planning. There was a feeling of a serious rush to get this deal approved. When we see a 22-story building in an area with accumulated problems, it is completely normal for people to ask whose interests are actually being protected.
- Residents of “Mladost“ took to the streets in mass protests against the development. Why do you think citizens no longer believe that the institutions protect the interests of neighborhoods?
- Because people have been seeing neighborhoods become denser for years, but the quality of life is not improving. New buildings appear much faster than new streets, parks, schools and kindergartens. When citizens feel that no one is listening to them in time, protest remains the only tool for reaction.
- Tension also emerged in the case between the regional administration, the SOS and Mayor Terziev. Is there a disagreement in the Sofia government on the topic of urban planning and redevelopment?
- Obviously, there are different views on how Sofia should develop. In my opinion, this is not just a political conflict, but a clash between the old model of development “piece by piece“ and the need for a long-term vision for the city. Sofia needs a clear policy, it needs to be clarified where high-rise buildings can be built, where the neighborhood character is preserved and how the infrastructure is going before the development, not after it.
- From “Save Sofia“ you insist on lower and balanced development. What is your specific alternative for this site - a public building, a park, mixed function or another development model?
- In my opinion, the most important thing is that the decision for this site should not be made “in the dark“ between institutions and investors, and with real participation of the people of “Mladost“. Citizens must be informed about the possible options for developing the property and there must be a broad public discussion with full publicity. It is those living in the neighborhood who know best what the area needs - whether more green spaces, a new public function, lower development or a mixed model.
- Does this case show a bigger problem - that the current development plans in Sofia allow excessive construction, without taking into account the real capacity of the transport, social and green infrastructure?
- Absolutely. This is one of the biggest problems in Sofia at the moment. There is no real assessment of whether the infrastructure (transport, social, educational) can withstand the new construction. If we do not start changing this model, we will continue to produce neighborhoods with more and more buildings and less and less quality of life.