According to him, it was previously expected that when the building was taken over by the municipality, it would assume responsibility, but after court decisions, a settlement agreement would be signed between the Construction Inspectorate and the Šatrija office.
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“In the last few days, we have had several new circumstances. This is the final court decision, which stated that the municipality cannot take over the property from the bankruptcy administrator, which means that the municipality, as was expected to be the property taker and participant, loses the need to participate in the agreement,” A. Stanislovaitis told journalists on Monday after a meeting regarding the demolition of the Moscow houses.
“All responsibility and the main burden still fall on the bankruptcy administrator. He agrees to take on this (responsibility – BNS) and we are currently reviewing the scope of the settlement agreement. (…) So far, all conditions are in place for the bankruptcy administrator together with the business to undertake the demolition,” he added.
However, according to the head of the Construction Inspectorate, if the agreement is not signed by the second half of September, a public contractor competition will be announced: “We agreed on the deadlines and will strive to have either a settlement agreement or proceed to a public procurement by the second half of September.”
After the prosecutor’s office warned the Construction Inspectorate to demolish the building as soon as possible, A. Stanislovaitis assures that they aim to find the fastest and most economical way to do this by attracting private funds.
“The prosecutor’s office spoke out, urged. We agree with that, in fact, we also aim to execute the court decision as quickly and economically as possible, to demolish the so-called Moscow houses. And this will be done. Now we have also introduced a deadline report, so that this should happen during September, the entire contract discussion,” said the head of the institution.
The capital’s mayor Valdas Benkunskas said that it is realistic to both agree on the draft contract and obtain court approval in September.
“Today we can state the willingness and approval of all parties to follow this path (concluding a settlement agreement – BNS). Just today, responsibilities and participation in the entire process were coordinated between the Construction Inspectorate, the bankruptcy administrator, and companies operating in the construction sector. In this case, I think there is very little left until we polish and have the final agreed contract,” V. Benkunskas told journalists after the meeting.
According to him, after the Construction Inspectorate and the bankruptcy administrator sign the settlement agreement, another separate agreement would be made between the Šatrija office and companies that would undertake to demolish the building with their own funds.
“The administrator must transfer this demolition duty specifically to entities that voluntarily commit to doing so. Such an agreement is needed between the bankruptcy administrator and primarily the Construction Inspectorate. Then there would be a separate agreement between the bankruptcy administrator and the construction companies that would fulfill this duty,” said the capital’s leader.
V. Benkunskas said he received assurances from construction companies that the building could be demolished within three months.
BNS wrote that the Lithuanian Court of Appeal ruled that the creditors of the liquidated institution “Moscow Culture and Business Center – Moscow Houses” cannot write off the debts and transfer them to the city municipality. According to him, the unauthorized construction object cannot be realized, therefore it cannot be transferred to Vilnius authorities.
Meanwhile, when the capital’s mayor appealed to law enforcement in January regarding the so-called Moscow houses that have not been demolished for more than four years, the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office warned the Construction Inspectorate to urgently execute the court decision to demolish the unfinished building. It also added that the settlement agreement must comply with legal acts and not contradict the public interest.
As BNS reported, the idea of the Moscow houses near the city center and the new business and housing complex on the former “Žalgiris” stadium territory has been developed since 2004.
In December 2016, the Vilnius City District Court declared the construction permit issued by the municipality invalid and ordered the builder – the public institution “Moscow Culture and Business Center Moscow Houses” – to obtain a new permit and reconstruct the building accordingly.
Since the institution did not do this, it was ordered to demolish the building, and if this order was not fulfilled, the demolition was allowed to be organized by the Construction Inspectorate in 2022.
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