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After 40 years of useless existence, the unfinished IPK “Rodina” building in Sofia will finally be demolished on Sunday, site owner East Plaza Invest announced.
The building, built in the 1980s for a publishing and printing complex, will be demolished due to non-functional and structural problems. It is currently owned by businessman Mikhail Tikov, owner of the Sofiamed Hospital. It acquired the building in 2018 for a bid of BGN 40 million in an auction announced by KTB administrators.
The building will be demolished between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sunday for a remote control explosion. Demolition work has been underway for the past few months and the bottom of the building was removed some time ago.
The demolition process of the complex is coordinated with all the competent institutions, the owners assure. A temporary traffic reorganization will be introduced on Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd.
“Maximum perimeter security around the building is also ensured. Protection has been built against polyethylene, wire mesh, as well as protective trenches against crushed concrete. Construction debris and its removal from property after the explosion of in no way will they restrict the free movement of citizens outside the territory of the site, “the company said.
“The blasting technology is state-of-the-art and is used for steel concrete buildings worldwide. The subcontractor has more than 31 years of experience in the Bulgarian market,” said East Plaza Invest. At this stage, the company says it is still exploring investment opportunities in the field.
The history of the building
The history of the unfinished building began more than 40 years ago. In 1976, the state decided to build a printing press that would be the most modern in the Balkans. It is also planned to have an editorial body to accommodate all journalists in the capital, headed by the editorial office of the Communist Party Workers’ Affairs official.
The large-scale project includes two buildings: one on nine and one on fifteen floors and a warm connection between them, a two-story, three-story building with underground garages. The total built area of 50,000 square meters had 600 cabinets and a pool.
Construction began in 1982 and five years after the printing work was completed. It is located in an area of almost 40 acres. In late 1989, changes occurred, Bulgaria was unable to repay its loans, and construction of the site froze. Therefore, the two towers remain under construction for 30 years.
In 2001 Ivan Kostov’s government decided to sell the unfinished building at auction for BGN 7 million. It fails due to a lack of candidates. Two years later, a new privatization procedure was announced. The Bulgarian United Newspaper Consortium wins the competition from the privatization agency and acquires 51% of the company’s capital with an offer of just over BGN 6 million.
The consortium has shares in Monitor, Look, Duma, Novinar, Meridian Match and Banker. For years, DPS Deputy Delyan Peevski’s newspapers have been sold at the print shop. Plans for the unfinished hull were to be repaired and commissioned, but that never happened.
During the 2005-2009 Trial Coalition, it was decided that the unfinished building would be demolished and a new one erected, replacing the administration of the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The idea is to make the deal through a real estate exchange, to give the NRA the media consortium already controlled by Irena Krasteva, the mother of Deputy Delyan Peevski, the 3 NRA buildings in downtown Sofia against the Future new building on Tsarigradsko Blvd. highway. “After criticism that a chicken-to-chicken exchange was being exchanged, the deal fell through.
This proposes to complete the unfinished body with funds from the World Bank. An auction won by Glavbolgarstroy was held, but the price offered far exceeds the funds provided.
New owner Mikhail Tikov clears the ground
In the summer of 2018, Mikhail Tikov purchased an unfinished IPK Rodina building from a private security officer for approximately BGN 40 million.
The two properties, one of 15 acres with unfinished homes and the other of almost 40 acres, were offered for sale due to their owner’s outstanding debts to the failed KTB. The debts were with Rodina Publishing and Printing Complex and its subsidiary Rodina Tower, which at the time was controlled by Peevski’s mother, Irena Krasteva.
The new owner, Mikhail Tikov, owns a chain of hospitals that includes Sofia based in Sofia, Palmed based in Plovdiv, Burgasmed-Burgas, as well as medical centers in Pazardzhik, Velingrad and others. It also has a Bulpharma medicine distributor. There is also a hotel business, including the Heber Hotel in Pazardzhik and Batak, as well as the Silver Hotel in the capital.
At this stage it is unclear what type of building will appear in place of the protruding ugly skeleton.
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