Head of the Department of Culture Liubarov on the possibility of buying a historic building: «The city lacks funds for urgent needs»
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- Alisa Melik-Adamian
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8:00, 11 February, 2025
The building of the first tram substation, which now houses the bank's branch. Photo: archive NikVestiThe Department of Culture of the Mykolaiv City Council has stated that the city does not have the funds to purchase the historic building on Soborna Street that is up for sale.
The head of the culture department, Yurii Liubarov, said this in a comment to NikVesti.
According to him, the purchase of real estate during the war is inappropriate for the city from both a moral and financial point of view.
«It is a very beautiful, historic building. The Department of Culture would be happy to buy this building, but it is not the right time, even if the city had the money. Today, Mykolaiv lacks funds for its immediate needs, and unfortunately, it is not the right time for the city to buy any real estate,» said Yurii Liubarov.
However, it should be noted that only recently the reconstruction of the flowerbed on Soborna Street in the centre of Mykolaiv was completed at a cost of 1 million hryvnias. A new sports ground near the Chess Club was opened on Flotskyi Boulevard. The project was implemented by the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks». It cost the budget ₴4.5 million. At the same time, the Department of Housing and Communal Services of Mykolaiv financed the work of utilities in 2024 for more than 475 million hryvnias, including the utility «Parks».
The official added that JSC «Raiffeisen Bank», which owns the building, first approached the city authorities with a proposal to buy it. However, the city refused to do so.
«Of course, this issue was discussed with the mayor, whether the city could accept it. I believe that this is not an issue at all today. According to the rules, the bank wrote to the city authorities with a proposal to be the first to buy the property, which is a monument. Unfortunately, the city does not have the ability or the moral, let's say... It's not the right time,» he said.
As you know, this building was erected in 1915 as the city's first tram substation. But later the city built a more spacious building for these purposes, so in 1933 the equipment was removed and the building was empty for 40 years.
In 1970, it was decided to demolish the abandoned building to widen Lenin Avenue and build an underpass. However, thanks to the efforts of the city's former architect Olha Popova, the former substation was preserved and after reconstruction, a cafe «Sadko» started operating there.
The cafe was open until 1989, and then a bar «Assol» was opened there. After the collapse of the USSR, the building was empty again. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Mykolaiv branch of the bank «Aval» became the owner of the monument, and after renovating the building, it opened a branch.
On 9 February, the building of the first tram substation at 8a Soborna Street was put up for sale with a starting price of just 3.5 million hryvnias. The auction is scheduled for 12 March.
NikVesti asked Serhii Prudkyi, an honorary citizen of Mykolaiv and member of the executive committee, who was once a bank director and bought the building for «Aval», what he thought about the possibility of the city buying the facility. He replied that the Department of Culture should now look for opportunities to purchase the building for ₴3.5 million to preserve the architectural monument for the people of Mykolaiv.