Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan says he's close to demolishing Cathedral Plaza

It is just a matter of judicial bureaucracy before the Bucharest municipality can start next year the demolishing of the 19-floor, never-used office building Cathedral Plaza, mayor Nicusor Dan announced.

The demolition cost is estimated at EUR 5 mln-8 mln, and the money will be charged to District 1 of the municipality, which in turn can sue those responsible for issuing the illegal building permit in 2006, mayor Dan explained.

The Court of Appeal rejected the owner's request for a special construction permit that would have settled the building's legal status, thus saving it from demolition. There is no other procedure that could restore the building's legality, Bucharest's mayor explained.

The municipality will resume the court procedure to enforce the demolition order issued in 2022 and suspended by the court to allow the owner to apply for the special building permit. However, the building's owner will predictably object again, and the procedure will take roughly one year.

The capital city's tallest building was finished in 2010 by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer but later sold to Greek businessman Ioannis Papalekas in 2013.

A construction permit was issued by District 1's mayor, Andrei Chiliman, in 2006, despite appeals by the Roman Catholic Church that it was damaging the 19th-century Gothic-Romanesque St Joseph's Cathedral. The 75-meter office building stands less than 10 meters from St Joseph's Cathedral.

The building permit was scrapped by the court in 2010, setting grounds for a prolonged legal battle involving the building's owners, the municipality, and the Roman Catholic Church.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Cosmin Enache)