Several businessmen are requested to give back the buildings where the City Hall intends to reanimate the Youth Center

State and municipal authorities intend to reanimate the former “Gagarin” Youth Center from Chisinau. The center is not working for many years due to the fact that the businessmen who have bought or rented land and rooms did not comply with their contractual obligations. The Chisinau City Hall convened local civil servants and the businessmen who have privatized the building, in order to discuss the possibility to reanimate the center and, according to the interim mayor Vasile Ursu, “to settle down the issue in a peaceful manner”. According to the interim mayor, the land and the building of the former “Gagarin” Center are in a very poor condition. Ursu believs that the businessmen room owners or renters “have to leave” as the center’s revival is the state’s interest. He assured the businessmen that, in case they cede peacefully this building, they will be allocated plots in other zones of the city and their expenses will be reimbursed. One of those 4 businessmen owning rooms in this building says that he might yield if he is allocated another plot “not worse than this one” and if all his expenses are reimbursed. According to Valeriu Imer, the municipality has initially allocated him plots on the territory of the former “Gagarin” Center for building offices, but central authorities decided that it would be more reasonable to build an apartment block on it. Another businessman notes that he might participate in the construction of the new Youth Center. Some years ago he has purchased it at an auction and should have rebuilt it. Because the issue of the nearby plots isn’t solved yet, the businessman and the mayoralty are in conflict. Iurie Chirinciuc, the building’s owner, says that he did not mean to change the building’s destination, but because of the conflict he could not start the works. The City Hall believes that the issue of the former “Gagarin” Center’s building has to be decided till the end of the year. The municipality will address official letters to businessmen requiring them to give back the land.