Bucharest City Hall lacks budget to demolish Cathedral Plaza offices, building owner looking for amicable solution to cancel demolition

The owners of the 19-storey Cathedral Plaza building in downtown Bucharest, which has been designated for demolition, say they’re looking for an “amicable” solution to avoid taxpayers having to foot the EUR 70 million cost of its destruction. Owner Millenium Building Development, this year lost its legal battle against the Romano-Catholic Church, which took issue with the tower’s position next to an old Cathedral. The court ordered the building’s demolition after finding it was built without the required permits. It was found this week that the demolition itself could cause EUR 70 million in direct damages to the Bucharest municipality. Despite receiving a notification to demolish the building by October 17, Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu said it was unlikely to take place this year. He said the court didn’t specify who should pay for the demolition, which cost more than EUR 18 million, a price tag the City Hall could not cover from its budget. The owners have maintained the building was erected legally, with a construction permit issued by the Bucharest Distinct 1 City Hall, which was valid all throughout the construction. However, ten days after the building was done, the construction authorization was cancelled. According to the court, this was because the permit should have been issued by the Bucharest General Council and not the District 1 City Hall. However, according to a Millenium Building Development statement, the council never issued construction permits and does not have any employees qualified to do it. The investor said it is not to blame for the lack of clarity on who should have issued the construction permits. The building, which has been finalized for some time but which stands empty, was recently bought by real estate investor Ioannis Papalekas, from the initial developer Eyal Ofer, according to Romanian media. Millenium Building Development says the conflict with the Archbishopy started with the former owners, but that the new owners are willing to solve these issues. The Archbishopy was initially supposed to occupy space in the building but conflicts arose, which lead to the church opposing the building altogether and asking for it to be demolished, and a park be created instead. The new owners however say the building was designed in a way to highlight the adjoining church. The Ploiesti Court of Appeal decided in January 2013 the Cathedral Plaza should be demolished. editor@romania-insider.com