Concrete «monster» in the heart of Kyiv: at 5 Filatova Street, artesian wells were «buried» under the business center building

The scandalous construction on Filatova Street, 5, in the Pechersk district has incorporated nearly every possible violation. The construction is being carried out with severe breaches of urban planning legislation, disregarding fire safety norms, and exceeding the red lines defined by building regulations. Moreover, local residents have been deprived of their only accessible source of drinking water within several kilometers by completely covering with concrete the artesian wells. To restore it, the questionable object needs to be demolished.

On June 19, it became known that community activists are collecting signatures demanding the dismissal of the Director of the Department of Transport Infrastructure at Kyiv City State Administration, Ruslan Kandybor. The residents are frustrated that billions of budget hryvnias are being spent on impractical road solutions without proper oversight.

In this context, another alarming example of the critical state of urban planning in Kyiv is the dubious construction on Filatova Street, 5, in Pechersk, where a monster-like building is growing, posing a direct threat to the safety and lives of the residents. However, it appears that the city authorities are not paying any attention to the issue and are not taking any steps to address it by demolishing the dangerous object or at least inspecting the construction.

On the land plot with cadastral number 8000000000:79:061:0117, strategic artesian wells were drilled after the Chernobyl NPP accident in 1986. These wells were intended to provide backup water sources for Kyiv in case of technological accidents. The need for this was recently evident when water supply to certain areas of the city was disrupted due to rocket attacks by Russian terrorists.

Фото: бетонний «монстр» на Філатова, 5

However, at present, a new construction of a trade and office complex is being carried out on this territory, under the pretext of a market reconstruction. This is happening while the public is being daily informed about the high probability of a Zaporizhia NPP explosion and a technological catastrophe. The kiosk has already been demolished, a pit has been dug outside the previous foundation, and access to vital water sources has been blocked.

As it was revealed to journalists, the private enterprise «Intertorg-2009» received permit KV 012211109630 dated February 12, 2021, for the «Reconstruction of a non-residential building (letter A)» for a trade building with administrative premises at Filatova Akademika Street, 5. During the construction work, the developer covered the mentioned artesian wells with concrete. On top of these wells, they are constructing a building, which is a violation by the developer of the requirements of urban planning conditions and restrictions and the current building regulations regarding the maximum allowable percentage of land plot coverage.

According to experts in the construction industry, considering that a significant part of the future real estate property has already been built over the wells, the only way to restore the concrete-covered wells is by demolishing the questionable construction.

Plot before the start of construction, MAF

From open sources, it is known that the founder of the private enterprise «Intertorg-2009» is Lyudmyla Vasylivna Kostenko, who is a deputy of the Kyiv City Council in the 7th and 8th convocations and is associated with the controversial developer Vadim Stolar.

«What’s most infuriating is that all of this is happening in the midst of large-scale aggression by Russia when there are constant deliberate rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities and the destruction of the Kakhovska HES dam. In many populated areas, there is already an urgent need for drinking water supply, and the threat of a new technological catastrophe looms over Ukraine», – say local residents who have been left without an alternative water source.

The issue of ensuring the future water supply to Kyiv residents in a state of war is more than urgent, and its resolution should not be subject to the private financial interests of the city authorities. However, the situation on Khreshchatyk Street, 32, indicates that the concerns of ordinary citizens are not a top priority, as shown by the tragic history of shelters

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