Chief Architect of Sofia, Petar Dikov, has declared his intention to downsize and update the list of buildings in the Bulgarian capital that are listed as culture monuments.

Dikov believes that between 1975 and 1985 the number of buildings granted the status of culture monuments was increased more than it should have, and pointed out that some of them will be removed from the list once it is fully reviewed and appraised.

He stated, as cited by Darik Radio, that he intends to include buildings built after 1944, when Bulgaria's communist period started (the communist regime was formally established in Bulgaria in 1948). At present, the cultural monuments' list does not feature a single building from the communist period.

Dikov thinks that the so called Sofia Largo, the complex of buildings housing the government, the presidency, the parliament offices, the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan, and the Tzum retail center should be declared part of the capital's cultural heritage.

The Sofia Architect vowed legislative changes to get the owners of old cultural heritage buildings to renovate them. At present, the owners of the cultural monuments do not pay taxes but Dikov believes that they should be taxed as any other building, and that the money raised in this way should be used specifically to repair and renovate them.

"The existing mechanism is inefficient because these owners are exempt from taxes on the presumption that they will spend this money on renovating the buildings; yet, nobody is telling then or forcing them to do that. 80% of the buildings in Sofia that are in the worst condition are cultural monuments. That is why we need to find the right mechanisms to stimulate, or even to force the owners to take care of them," Dikov declared.

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