The chief architect of Sofia, Zdravko Zdravkov, has issued a design visa for the reconstruction of the former Telephone Palace on “Gurko” Street into a hotel, according to the register of the “Architecture and Town Planning” Department in the Metropolitan Municipality. The building is located on the territory of the “Sredets” district in the ideal center of the capital. At the moment, its purpose is “for multifunctional public service”, and after the change, “with a hotel” will be added to this. As is known, for several years the palace was owned by a company of the businessman Vasil Bozhkov, who received permission to turn it into a museum in which to exhibit his collection of antique objects. At the beginning of this year, it became clear that the trustee of Bozhkov’s company, declared bankrupt, sold its assets to a company of Georgi Papazki. He is known as one of the owners of the gambling bookmaker “Winbet”, known for its advertisements with Hristo Stoichkov, Dimitar Rachkov and Goran Bregovic.
The visa issued by Zdravkov allows the owner of the Telephone Palace to rebuild the attic space and turn it into an attic floor with a “usable terrace”. Bozhkov also received a similar permission for change in 2019. Since the building is a cultural monument, the project must be coordinated with the Ministry of Culture. According to a stamp on the design visa, this once happened 6 years ago, and the text of the new visa states that “before the approval of the investment project, the current visa must be agreed by MK”.
In 2017, Vasil Bozhkov bought the building from “Vivacom” for BGN 33.8 million through a subsidiary of his gambling company “New Games”. After that, “Nove Holding” announced that “the acquisition of the building, which is an integral part of the capital’s cultural heritage, is the beginning of our investment intentions for development in this direction.” The Telephone Palace will be home to unique exhibits and collections in the field of art and world cultural and historical heritage.”
In 2020, however, “New Games” declared bankruptcy after the state revoked its license for lottery games due to non-payment of nearly BGN 700 million in fees and taxes. Then an injunction was imposed to dispose of the Telephone Palace.
At the end of March this year “Mediapool” reported that the businessman Georgi Papazki is buying the building for BGN 22 million from the company in liquidation, owned by the bankrupt “New Games”. An official confirmation of the transaction also stated that the purchase was made “after the removal of four foreclosures imposed by the state, “with the approval and under the supervision of the competent Bulgarian court in open bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings of the previous owner and in accordance with the instructions of the receiver”. .
After that, the new owner of the palace, the company “GPP Management”, specified that they would strengthen the structure, because at the moment it did not meet the modern anti-earthquake standards, and besides, the building had been without maintenance and dangerous for years. According to the announcement, the intentions of the new owner are to turn the palace into a multifunctional building, while preserving its historical appearance.
The emblematic building for Sofia was created in 1949 according to a project by the architects Stancho Belkovski and Boris Yolov. The six-story building has a total area of 17,401 sq.m.
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2023-08-30 01:00:30
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