site.btaSofia Municipal Council Approves Request for Transfer of State Properties to City Hall

The Sofia Municipal Council Thursday approved six proposals by Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev and Council Chair Tsvetomir Petrov for the transfer of state-owned properties to the municipality.

The properties include several landmark buildings in the capital, land for the construction of kindergartens and schools, a park, and a site intended for waste management needs.

The proposal now will go to the Sofia Regional Governor and be approved by the government.

Among the assets the council authorized the municipality to acquire are a historic late-19th-century building that for decades housed a public notary office; another building formerly used as the headquarters of a major political party, which the municipality plans to convert into offices for its education and youth and sports departments; and a property with two early-20th-century heritage buildings linked to Sofia’s political and social history. The list also includes Vrana Park, a park-museum covering about 100,000 square meters and known for its collection of more than 800 plant species, as well as a large former clay quarry on the outskirts of the city that could be rehabilitated and used as a site for soil and construction waste.

The Council also approved two additional proposals submitted by municipal councilors from the Save Sofia group. One calls for the municipality to receive state-owned properties that could be redeveloped into housing as part of a compensation mechanism for private landowners whose plots fall within shared residential spaces between apartment blocks. The other proposal seeks the transfer of state-owned land in a residential district to address problems related to construction in such shared areas.

All councilors supported the reports with two exceptions: one member GERB-UDF abstained on the proposal concerning the former political party headquarters, and an independent councilor abstained in the vote on the transfer of Vrana Park.

MRF - New Beginning, Mayor Terziev at loggerheads

Earlier in the day, the Sofia Mayor and MRF - New Beginning led by Delyan Peevski traded barbs over the Mayor's idea to have state-owned properties in Sofia transferred to the local authorities.

MRF – New Beginning said in a statement it will submit a proposal for a moratorium on the transfer of state-owned properties by the caretaker government. According to the party, the move is intended to prevent attempts "to plunder valuable state resources and to protect the interests of the people". In a statement, the formation led by Peevski claimed that "Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev and municipal councilors from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria – Save Sofia coalition have prepared a scheme to acquire state properties in the capital".

Responding to the criticism, Terziev said in a Facebook post that the City Hall's goal is to secure sites needed for public services and urban development. "Why shouldn't the Sofia Municipality request properties for kindergartens, parks, and culture? That is what we want for Sofia, instead of abandoned and crumbling buildings," the mayor said. Referring to Peevski, the Mayor added that it is normal for Peevski, who has spent his life involved in schemes "to see schemes everywhere because he knows nothing else". 

As he announced in a social media post that his party would approve the proposed property transfer, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said they would watch closely what happens with the transferred assets to make sure "they are not turned into skyscrapers or captured". "We will once again vote in favor of this because it is in the interest of Sofia, and these properties can become parks, sports halls, public buildings and the like," he said.