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Sat, May 26 2012
Green grass over blue glass
REMEMBER THIS PLACE: Bulgarian political party Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO) staged a protest next to the Russian church on January 10 by erecting a symbolic fence around the garden. The goal of the protest was to raise awareness and to make the public aware that it could influence proceedings, municipal councillor for the party Angel Djambazki was quoted as saying by Bulgarian news agency BTA. According to Djambazki, the planned building was to be a three-storey business centre with two additional underground floors. A decision in the case was a matter of negotiation between the mayor and the owners of the land, Djambazki said. At the protest, IMRO handed out cards with a photograph of the garden to passers-by ‘as a memory of a place which may no longer exist tomorrow.’
Photo: Georgi Kozhouharov
Sofia municipality might be trying to keep the garden next to one of the city’s most well-known cultural landmarks, the Russian church, green, local media reported in the first week of January.
Over the span of just a few days, several municipal officials indicated at different occasions that land and/or property swaps might end the ongoing row over plans to build what was said would be a three or four-storey business centre on the corner of Bul. Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd and Rakovski Street.
The latest to do so was deputy mayor Minko Gerdjikov, who on January 7 said that the municipality did not have the financial means to by able to flat-out expropriate the property from current owner Abrotea International.
Instead, the municipality might be willing to relinquish its 25 per cent share in the Halite shopping centre in exchange for ownership of the plot next to the Russian church, Gerdjikov said.
Abrotea International owner Ashtrom International already owns the remaining 75 per cent stake in the shopping centre.
According to Gerdjikov, the 25 per cent stake did not give the municipality any real influence in how the Halite was run, although the 300 000 leva annual dividend the municipality got from its stake in the shopping centre was "not a small sum," he said.
"In case this offer was not acceptable to Abrotea, swaps of land owned by municipal company Sofiiski Imoti were negotiable," Gerdjikov was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying.
A land swap deal was suggested as a possible solution a few days earlier by Margarita Gouteva, mayor of Sofia’s Sredets district.
Gouteva made her suggestion at a news conference in which she announced she had had no choice but to issue a permit for the erection of fences around the garden as a first step towards construction.
Sofiyanski days
The history of both the Hali and the garden next to the Russian Church lead back to the days when Stefan Sofiyanski was mayor of Sofia.
Halite, originally municipal property which had been disused for years, had been sold during Sofiyanski’s term as mayor of Sofia.
He was later accused of having sold the real estate at 400 times below market value and of forming a joint venture between the municipality and Ashtrom International.
After a court case that dragged on for several years, in 2007 Sofiyanski was found not guilty on charges of malfeasance in the renovation of the shopping centre.
Meanwhile, Sofiyanski agreed with Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov a plan for the construction of a Russian Culture and Business Centre; a two-storey, 900 sq m construction as restitution for buildings of the former Russian embassy destroyed during World War 2.
The agreement contained a clause which gave the Russian centre construction rights to the plot next to the building in which currently the centre is housed; the disputed garden next to the Russian church.
The garden next to the Russian church was returned in 1994 to the family who used to own the garden before the communist nationalistation after 1947, who then sold the property to Abrotrea International for $1.5 million.
The company applied for and received a building permit from then Sofia chief architect Stoyan Yanev for the construction of a business centre.
Following a public outrcry over the plans, Yanev revoked the permit and offered land in the Zona B5 borough as compensation. An offer that was never materialised and resulted in the first court case against City Hall by Abrotea.
After Boiko Borissov became Sofia mayor and Yanev was replaced by Petar Dikov as chief architect, Dikov changed the city plan and included the garden in a plot for the Russian Culture and Business Centre, a move that was succesfully fought in court by Abrotea International.
Null and void
Gouteva said that she had been forced to issue to permit for the erection of the construction fences by two court orders and expressed her hope that Sofia City Hall, which has the final word on permits, would declare the permit void.
Bulgarian daily Sega quoted Dikov as saying that this was exactly what he intended to do, adding; "we cannot have have everyone putting up fences in SOfia and buidling wherever they want. Especially in the case where the terrain has been declared a green area."
Gerdjikov said that "whatever happens, there will be no building in the garden because according to city plan it has the status of a green zone on which construction is prohibited."
The question was what the cost of the land swap for Abrotea would be. According to Gerdjikov "the value of the property fell when the current status [as green zone] was established."
Gerdjikov said an independent appraiser would establish the value of the property, which would form the basis of negotiations with Abrotea International.
Over the span of just a few days, several municipal officials indicated at different occasions that land and/or property swaps might end the ongoing row over plans to build what was said would be a three or four-storey business centre on the corner of Bul. Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd and Rakovski Street.
The latest to do so was deputy mayor Minko Gerdjikov, who on January 7 said that the municipality did not have the financial means to by able to flat-out expropriate the property from current owner Abrotea International.
Instead, the municipality might be willing to relinquish its 25 per cent share in the Halite shopping centre in exchange for ownership of the plot next to the Russian church, Gerdjikov said.
Abrotea International owner Ashtrom International already owns the remaining 75 per cent stake in the shopping centre.
According to Gerdjikov, the 25 per cent stake did not give the municipality any real influence in how the Halite was run, although the 300 000 leva annual dividend the municipality got from its stake in the shopping centre was "not a small sum," he said.
"In case this offer was not acceptable to Abrotea, swaps of land owned by municipal company Sofiiski Imoti were negotiable," Gerdjikov was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying.
A land swap deal was suggested as a possible solution a few days earlier by Margarita Gouteva, mayor of Sofia’s Sredets district.
Gouteva made her suggestion at a news conference in which she announced she had had no choice but to issue a permit for the erection of fences around the garden as a first step towards construction.
Sofiyanski days
The history of both the Hali and the garden next to the Russian Church lead back to the days when Stefan Sofiyanski was mayor of Sofia.
Halite, originally municipal property which had been disused for years, had been sold during Sofiyanski’s term as mayor of Sofia.
He was later accused of having sold the real estate at 400 times below market value and of forming a joint venture between the municipality and Ashtrom International.
After a court case that dragged on for several years, in 2007 Sofiyanski was found not guilty on charges of malfeasance in the renovation of the shopping centre.
Meanwhile, Sofiyanski agreed with Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov a plan for the construction of a Russian Culture and Business Centre; a two-storey, 900 sq m construction as restitution for buildings of the former Russian embassy destroyed during World War 2.
The agreement contained a clause which gave the Russian centre construction rights to the plot next to the building in which currently the centre is housed; the disputed garden next to the Russian church.
The garden next to the Russian church was returned in 1994 to the family who used to own the garden before the communist nationalistation after 1947, who then sold the property to Abrotrea International for $1.5 million.
The company applied for and received a building permit from then Sofia chief architect Stoyan Yanev for the construction of a business centre.
Following a public outrcry over the plans, Yanev revoked the permit and offered land in the Zona B5 borough as compensation. An offer that was never materialised and resulted in the first court case against City Hall by Abrotea.
After Boiko Borissov became Sofia mayor and Yanev was replaced by Petar Dikov as chief architect, Dikov changed the city plan and included the garden in a plot for the Russian Culture and Business Centre, a move that was succesfully fought in court by Abrotea International.
Null and void
Gouteva said that she had been forced to issue to permit for the erection of the construction fences by two court orders and expressed her hope that Sofia City Hall, which has the final word on permits, would declare the permit void.
Bulgarian daily Sega quoted Dikov as saying that this was exactly what he intended to do, adding; "we cannot have have everyone putting up fences in SOfia and buidling wherever they want. Especially in the case where the terrain has been declared a green area."
Gerdjikov said that "whatever happens, there will be no building in the garden because according to city plan it has the status of a green zone on which construction is prohibited."
The question was what the cost of the land swap for Abrotea would be. According to Gerdjikov "the value of the property fell when the current status [as green zone] was established."
Gerdjikov said an independent appraiser would establish the value of the property, which would form the basis of negotiations with Abrotea International.
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Sofia municipality cancels 16 property swops
City council chairperson Andrey Kehayov said that citizens and companies involved in such transactions had no grounds to take court action against the municipality.
Colliers: Real estate prices in Bulgaria to drop by further 10 per cent by July
In 2009, real estate prices declined by about 20 per cent on average across Bulgaria compared to 2008 figures.
Russian church garden under threat again
Court order gives developer the right to erect fences around one of Sofia's landmark green areas
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Appointments
Employment Agency
Kamelia Lozanova has been appointed the executive director of the Employment Agency, a position she has held ad interim since September 2011, following the resignation of her predecessor Rossitsa Stelianova. Prior to that, Lozanova was the agency's deputy executive director in charge of international projects and European programmes. She has been with the agency for more than 20 years. Lozanova has a degree in Slavonic philology from the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.
Uniqa
Gloria Dimitrova has been appointed executive director and member of the managing board at Uniqa Life Insurance Bulgaria. Dimitrova began her career in 1998 at the insurance supervision directorate, but moved to the private sector and worked for professional services and insurance brokerage firm Marsh&McLennan and US insurer AIG, both in Bulgaria and the Middle East. She joined Uniqa as regional director for Sofia in 2010. Dimitrova has a degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia and a master's degree in insurance from the Business Academy in Svishtov.
Beiersdorf
Bedros Kalfayan, general manager of skin care and cosmetics company Beiersdorf Bulgaria, will oversee the parent's company units in Romania and Moldova starting April 1. Following company restructuring, Beiersdorf's subsidiaries in the three countries were merged and are now one unit, part of Beiersdorf Central and Eastern Europe. Kalfayan joined Beiersdorf in 2007 as sales manager and was promoted to general manager in 2008. Prior to that, he worked for Axxon Bulgaria, Ferrero and Rubella. Kalfayan has a master's degree in industrial management from the Technical University in Sofia.
Kamenitza
Yassen Lyubenov is the new head of marketing at Bulgarian beer brewer Kamenitza. Lyubenov has 12 years of experience in marketing in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and has started his career as assistant brand manager at Kraft Foods Bulgaria. He later became brand manager at Wrigley Bulgaria, with responsibilities for Bulgaria and Macedonia. Prior to joining Kamenitza, he was senior marketing manager at Wrigley Russia, where he was in charge of brand expansion into Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Lyubenov has a bachelor's degree in international business administration from the University of Lincoln, UK.
Hewlett-Packard
Sasha Bezuhanova has been appointed Hewlett-Packard public sector director for emerging markets, where she will oversee HP public sector activities in 63 countries, including Bulgaria. Bezuhanova will also be in charge of HP's relations with the European Union. Bezuhanova has been HP's public sector director for Central and Eastern Europe since 2008; before that she was general manager of HP Bulgaria since 1998. Bezuhanova has a master's degree in electronics from the Technical University in Sofia and has completed a managment programme at INSEAD.
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Cosmos, that looks suspiciously like a protest banner he's spraying on. For now, no laws have been passed that ban the painting of slogans on protest banners :)
The guy spraying paint should be made to clean it off and then locked up in jail and also fined 500 leva.
As a six and half year resident of Bulgaria, I always found the Russian Church 'Park' as a most refreshing place to visit. The Gerdjikov property exchange sound like a reasonable course towards compromise. It would certainly be a shame to permit this 'green oasis' in the heart of Sofia to be turned into yet another glass box that will ruin the majestic view of the Russian Church!