The Sofia Municipality has made a key breakthrough in protecting the public interest in Borisova Gradina. The land of the Maria Luisa Bathhouse has already been registered as municipal property. This was announced by the Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning and Development Lyubo Georgiev after a meeting of the Municipal Expert Council for Spatial Development (OESUT), which lasted over 4 hours, quoted by the press center of the Sofia Municipality.
The meeting was dedicated to discussing the submitted proposals, opinions and objections to the draft Detailed Development Plan (DDP) of Borisova Gradina. It was attended by representatives of the Sofia Municipality, the district administrations, the Sofia Municipal Council, the professional organizations of architects and landscape architects, experts.
The Bathhouse “Maria Luiza“ is now municipal
Arch. Lyubo Georgiev announced that the Sofia Municipality has taken legal action to acquire ownership of the Bathhouse's terrain. The property has already been registered and entered in the cadastral map as municipal.
As part of its efforts to protect the public interest, the Sofia Municipality commissioned a legal analysis from an external consultant - lawyer Bakalova from the office “Bakalova and Damyanov“. The analysis indicates that for some of the properties there is no legal basis for them to have become private property and this was done illegally. That is why the Municipality is already challenging private property deeds in the park, with the goal of returning them to citizens without compensation if it is proven that they were acquired illegally in the past.
Why is the PUP critically important for Sofia?
The meeting of the OESUT is a crucial step towards improving and adopting the Detailed Development Plan (PUP). It is important because it will:
put an end to the work “piecemeal“ in the park and will allow the creation and implementation of public development projects.
introduced a categorical ban on new construction.
reinforced the public nature of the park.
Main changes and consensus decisions from the meeting:
Green amphitheater instead of a new stadium: OESUT adopted a recommendation to drop the plan to restore the “Yunak“ stadium in its historical form. Instead, the terrain, which is 100% public state property, will be designed as a green amphitheater area that better matches the park environment.
Reorganization of parking:
The plan for an underground parking lot at the “Pioner“ station, which will serve the sports areas, has been confirmed.
Regarding the controversial parking lot under “Kapitolia“ Two options will be developed – “with“ and “without“, in order to study the real environmental and transport effect, as well as the possibility of using the existing parking lots around the National Stadium.
Important rule: All underground facilities must have a 1.5 meter soil layer on top for planting trees, so that no real park area is lost.
Car removal: Access inside the park will be severely limited – only for emergency needs, maintenance and technical service of events, but not for private cars. In addition, the main approach for servicing the park remains the alley opposite the Faculty of Biology, and the current pedestrian alleys at “Kiril Vidinski” Str. and opposite the Bulgarian National Radio remain pedestrian-only.
New functions for citizens: It was discussed and agreed to provide significantly more fountains and public toilets, as well as to integrate the idea of an open-air library.
What's next?
Today's decision is not a final adoption of the plan, but the formulation of expert recommendations. The procedure continues with the following steps:
Revision of the project: The designers must reflect the recommendations of the OESUT and submit a new project.
New coordination: Any significant change requires new coordination with state institutions such as the National Institute of Environmental Protection, the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, etc.
Reconsideration by the OESUT: The revised plan will be reviewed again by the Expert Council.
Final vote: The final approval of the PUP depends on the Sofia Municipal Council.
„Our goal is for Borisova Garden to be managed as a single public territory, not as a collection of private interests. Today's decisions bring us closer to a greener and more accessible park for all Sofia residents,“ concluded Lyubo Georgiev.