It’s just a matter of judicial bureaucracy before Bucharest Municipality can begin demolition of the never-used 19-story office building Cathedral Plaza next year, the mayor says Nicusor Dan announcement.

The cost of the demolition is estimated between 5 and 8 million euros, and the money will be billed to District 1 of the municipality, which in turn will be able to take legal action against those responsible for issuing the illegal building permit in 2006, Mayor Dan explained.

The Court of Appeal rejected the owner’s application for a special building permit which would have resolved the legal status of the building, saving it from demolition. There is no other procedure to restore the legality of the building, explained the mayor of Bucharest.

The municipality will resume the legal procedure to enforce the demolition order issued in 2022 and suspended by the court to allow the owner to apply for the special building permit. However, as expected, the building owner will object again and the procedure will take around a year.

The capital’s tallest building was completed in 2010 by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, but later sold to Greek businessman Ioannis Papalekas in 2013.

A building permit was issued by District 1 Mayor Andrei Chiliman in 2006, despite calls from the Roman Catholic Church that it was damaging the 19th-century Gothic-Romanesque St. Joseph Cathedral. The 75-meter office building is less than 10 meters from St. Joseph Cathedral.

The building permit was canceled by the court in 2010, paving the way for a protracted legal battle involving the building’s owners, the municipality and the Roman Catholic Church.

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(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Cosmin Enache)