Not just monuments: St. Petersburg activists discussed the issue of protecting historical buildings

It is not only cultural heritage sites that are proposed to be protected from demolition.

Urban defenders propose to ban the demolition of not only pre-revolutionary buildings, but also houses older than half a century. Issues of preservation of historical buildings and corresponding amendments to legislation discussed as part of the round table.

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Participants of the public association “Old Petersburg” held a thematic discussion on the issues of monument protection. The main topic was Law No. 820 on the boundaries of joint zones for the protection of cultural heritage sites, as well as its possible changes. The meeting participants discussed which buildings should be considered historical. In the legal act, historical buildings are separated from architectural monuments. These include buildings erected before 1917 for the city center and before 1957 for the periphery. They are considered valuable for shaping the urban environment. Activists propose that all buildings no younger than 1957 be considered historical.

The topicality of the topic is dictated by the trends of recent years. More and more buildings are being demolished in agreement with officials. Previously in KGIOP stated about changing the approach to determining the value of a building. After the assessment of the expert commission, some historical buildings of St. Petersburg “rejuvenated”, like the Vasileostrovsky bakery (aka the Manege of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment). Others were denied cultural heritage status and value, like Bacevich's house.

_{As a result, just last year several buildings with history were demolished or partially dismantled, and many are already being prepared for the same fate. Many demolition works were carried out without approval from the relevant authorities. In all cases, we are talking about the interests of developers who need profitable plots for housing in the city center.}

It is worth noting that requests from city protection authorities to pay attention to already identified and recognized OKNs also remain unheeded. While officials are inspecting old buildings to get rid of less valuable ones, the real assets are in a deplorable state. Thus, the Stables Department has not been able to solve the problem of accidents for more than ten years. The building was closed for reconstruction, which was going to be carried out by the investor. City defenders did not allow the project to be completed; instead of the hotel, Konyushennaye was decided to be turned into a public space.

However, the city has still not been able to find a new investor. In 2023, not a single project from large experienced companies received support. Last year, the building was put up for auction under the “Ruble per meter” preferential rental program. The winner was a small Moscow company, but within a few months Konyushenny became the subject of litigation. Arbitration recognized the results of the auction are invalid. Meanwhile, the townspeople are concerned about the delay in repairing the Konyushenny building; the building is quite dilapidated and sooner or later it may collapse.

This year, the intention of officials caused a great stir make edits to the law on the boundaries of cultural heritage protection zones. Changes proposed by the city legislature create a risk of losing about two hundred historical buildings. Most of them are located on the territory of the Narva outpost. So far, it has been possible to postpone its action until 2029.

At the round table, social activists proposed their changes to this law. For example, consider more carefully the issue of determining the age and value of a building. It is proposed to classify as historical buildings those erected before 1957 inclusive. Also, the deputy chairman of the Council for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of St. Petersburg, Mikhail Milchik, proposed creating a working group that would determine acceptable types of work in historical buildings. It is proposed to exclude houses from the list of historical buildings during expert assessment only taking into account the opinion of the Council. In addition, activists discussed the concept of “street front”. According to the discussion participants, this category requires clarification.