The Chisinau City Hall confirms that it issued permits for the construction of a multifunctional complex on Vasile Alecsandri St, in the place of the former Gaudeamus cinema, IPN reports.

Deputy mayor Ilie Ceban said that the documents were issued in accordance with the law. The land and the building had been privately owned for many years. Previously, the former owners tried to change the destination and turn it into an area for the construction of blocks of flats, in 2020, but the process was stopped.

"It is a C3 area, which allows the construction of multifunctional, social or commercial facilities. This is how the issuing of permissive documents was requested. This is how they were issued, with a corresponding number of parking lots. It will not be a residential block," said the deputy mayor.

Ceban did not confirm how many floors the building will have, but, according to the law, it must not be higher than 15 floors.

The reaction comes after municipal councilor Victor Chironda said that it is not clear on what legal basis the permit was issued. According to him, the Gaudeamus cinema was illegally demolished in the summer of 2020. At that time, mayor Ion Ceban requested that the Chisinau Council should be convened to consider a legal possibility of returning this land to the municipality and canceling the Zonal Urban Plan. The mayor proposed that a theater or a municipal cultural center be built in that place.

However, following a number of decisions, the area was changed from code C3 (commercial area) to code R7 (medium-density residential area). The floor parameters provided by this permit far exceed the requirements for the C3 area, said Victor Chironda.

"The construction of such a complex in this area is illegal and inadmissible. Without appropriate urban planning documentation and without solutions to streamline traffic, such a building will generate enormous additional pressure on the social and transport infrastructure in the area close to Pan Halippa St,” said the municipal councilor.