“Maria Luisa” Bathhouse Reconstruction Project Returns Due to Planned Upgrade and Completion Parameters, Says NINKN

The project for the reconstruction of the “Maria Luisa” bathhouse has been returned by the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage (NINKN), the mayor of the “Sredets” district, Traicho Traikov, announced on his Facebook page.

“NINKN returned the project for the reconstruction of the Maria “Louisa” bathhouse to the investor due to the parameters of the planned upgrade and completion,” he wrote on the social network. Traikov congratulates the “Sofia Team” organization, which received this information under the Law on Access to Public Information.

“This is good news, mainly because it is a clear sign of what can and especially what cannot be done there and gives the Metropolitan Municipality an excellent negotiating position if it wants to look for a way to return the property to municipal hands,” he wrote the district mayor.

In February of this year, the press center of the Metropolitan Municipality announced that the design visa for the “Maria Luisa” bathhouse does not allow for new construction. The project is only for the renovation of the bathhouse and must be agreed with the Ministry of Culture and the Regional Inspectorate for the Environment and Water, the press center said. According to the municipality, the visa for the design of the bathroom allows only major repairs and modernization, which do not affect trees and categorically does not allow new construction. In February, the press center of the Metropolitan Municipality pointed out that the statements spread in the public space that the felling of trees by the owner of the property was because of the issued visa were completely false, BTA recalled.

With the visa issued for the “Maria Luisa” bathhouse on July 6, 2022 by the chief architect of the Metropolitan Municipality, the design of only a basic renovation and modernization of the summer bathhouse was allowed, the Metropolitan Municipality indicated in the winter of this year.

On their page in the social network, in a publication from today, the “Sofia Team” wrote that in response to the inquiry under the Law on Access to Public Information about the visa issued in July last year, they found “extremely worrying facts”. The visa documents also included a conceptual project for coordination, in which the National Institute of National Statistics and Research established that “the development is not in accordance with the outline and floor plan”, which means that it is planned to expand and upgrade the existing buildings on the property, according to the “Team of Sofia”.