After being postponed for years, construction of a 58,000-square-meter business-commercial complex in Rajiceva street has finally been resumed. The two phases of works, which are planned to be finished until 2013, should include the construction of a shopping center, a five-star hotel, and underground garages for 600 cars. The Israeli investor ABD Ltd. says for Politika daily that it is going to invest about EUR 100 million in the project and employ hundreds of people.
The deadlines for the commencement and completion of construction works on a lot spanning about a hectare, situated in the area between streets Uzun Mirkova, Tadeusa Koscuska and Knez Mihailova, have been extended several times since 2003. An open competition for the design of an architectural-landscape solution for a hotel-business center in Rajiceva street was announced 12 years ago. The first prize at that competition was won by architects Milan and Vladimir Lojanica.
Unresolved property relations on the lot, archeological researches and problems with the project funding were usually mentioned as the main obstacles. Some of them were eliminated in the meantime.
People at ABD say that they are "building the complex in accordance with the received permits and with full respect for the obligations toward the state."
A documentation receipt, which is, pursuant to the 2003 Law on Planning and Construction, a "green light" for the commencement of works , was issued in August 2009 by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. This ministry is competent because the location of Rajiceva street is situated within the spatial cultural-historical entity - the area of Knez Mihailova street, which is a cultural heritage of exceptional importance.
Shadow of Srpski Krаlj
In spite of the claims that everything is done in line with law, people at the Restitution Network say that Bogdan Veljkovic, a Serb from the USA whose ancestors were proprietors of Srpski Kralj hotel situated on a 12-are lot at the corner of Tadeusa Koscuska and Uzun Mirkova streets before the World War II, is still fighting for the restitution of that property.