The public tender for the purchase of the "First Serbian Sugar Factory Dimitrije Tucović 1898" will be held on June 11, and the company "Belgrade on the Water" has already been seen by the public as the new owner of the Stara Šečerana. Such beliefs have been fueled by changes to the Spatial Plan for "Belgrade on the Water" which also include this location
The old sugar house it extends over 12 hectares, in a very attractive location across the street Ade Ciganlije. The state in which it is currently found does not correspond to the status of immovable cultural property and cultural monument that it enjoys.
Since the relocation of production to the Padina scaffolding in 1983, the former pride of Belgrade's industrial architecture has been left to the test of time.
Vesić's promises
It seemed that better days were coming for Stara Šečerana when in 2022 the city parliament declared this space a cultural center which, as the then deputy mayor Goran Vesić said, would not be able to be used for commercial purposes, but only for culture, education and tourism.
"We will restore all the buildings in that area because they are under the protection of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments." KPGT will remain there, which has already become a kind of brand of that space, we will build theaters, galleries, IT hub spaces, everything that is intended for education and culture, and finally we will protect that space," Vesić promised in February 2022.
The hope of Ljubiša Ristić
Neither the first nor the last promise that fell into oblivion. The old sugar factory was forgotten in Radnička Street, until April of this year when the Government of Serbia made a decision to change the Spatial Plan "Belgrade on the Water". The settlement, which sprung up on the banks of the Sava in the previous 10 years, will thus expand to additional plots in the area of Sava venc and Stari Grad, as well as New Belgrade and Čukarica. Among those parcels, as could be seen on the map published with the Government's decision, is the area of the Old Sugar Factory.
And as it usually happens, when an investor comes along, things speed up. A month later, the Agency for the Licensing of Bankruptcy Administrators announced the sale of the "First Serbian Sugar Factory Dimitrije Tucović 1898" in bankruptcy at Radnička 3, at an initial price of 680,6 million dinars.
Ljubiša Ristić, director of the only place in Stara Šečerana where you can feel the pulse - KPGT Cultural Institution - is convinced, however, that the expansion of "Belgrade on the Water" does not threaten the future of Stara Šečeran as a cultural center.
He hopes that the state will use the right of first refusal to take over the Old Sugar Factory, and he sees "Belgrade on the water" in the immediate neighborhood only as a plus.
Print screenSugar mill, protected area
"The expansion of Belgrade on the water is planned for the plots of the Stara Šečerana, but not by demolishing and building apartments here, but the state's Arab partner in that project could participate in the financing and construction of the cultural center in the Stara Šečerana," said Ristić in May for "Politics".
Vesić, today in the position of Minister of Construction, assures Ristić that there is nothing to worry about. During the weekend, together with his colleague from the Government, Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, he visited the KPGT and repeated:
"Given that the tender for the sale of Šećerana is underway, my message to all companies that intend to participate in the tender is that if they want to invest six million euros in culture, they are welcome, but if they think that by buying Šećerana they will be able to to build, wasted money, because it will never happen."
On that occasion, Vesić and Selaković pointed out that the Old Sugar Mill is a protected cultural property, and therefore it is impossible to build anything there, but only to restore the buildings in accordance with the conditions of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments.
Someone is already making plans for the Old Sugar Factory
That there is still a favorite in the public bidding that will be held on Tuesday, is indicated by the fact that visualizations (renderings) of what the Old Sugar Factory could look like in the future have already appeared on the websites of foreign bureaus.
Namely, on the official website of the international studio CGI Kite, specialized in the production of 3D visualizations, the reconstruction project of the Old Sugar Factory in Belgrade can be seen for a long time.
"Preserving the historic facade of the factory while transforming the interior into a functional business and residential space is a challenge. CGI Kite's innovative design solutions have successfully revitalized the space, creating a dynamic mixed-use zone that pays homage to the city's industrial past while offering modern conveniences," states the office's official website.
However, it should be borne in mind that CGI Kite Studio specializes in the production of 3D visualizations, that is, it provides services for the production of so-called renders for other architectural bureaus, so it is not known who is actually the real author of this conceptual solution for the Old Sugar Factory, nor for whose needs it was created.
However, it is unlikely that foreign offices spend their free time revitalizing abandoned factories in Serbia out of boredom. Someone hired them, and it cannot be said with certainty that it is the company "Belgrade on Water".
It is indicative, however, that from the description of the project and the visualizations themselves, it can be concluded that the purpose of the buildings is mostly residential and commercial, and not cultural as previously promised by the City Administration.
An opportunity to rescue Stara Šećerana from Belgrade on the water
Let us remind you that after the Agency for Licensing of Bankruptcy Trustees scheduled the sale of Stara Šećerana for June 11, at an initial price of 0d 680,6 million dinars, the organization "Belgrade on the move - get started" announced itself, appealing to the Government of Serbia to prevent this sale.
In the answer about the monument status of the Sugar Factory, which they received from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade, it is written: "The Sugar Factory in Radnička Street No. 3 and 3a in Belgrade was designated as a cultural monument - a cultural asset by a decision from 1984." It is also located within the spatial cultural-historical unit of Topčider, which has been designated as a cultural property of exceptional importance since 22987."
Monument of culture
"Considering that the Sugar Mill is protected on two grounds, we appeal to the state to use the right of pre-emption that it has under the Law on Cultural Heritage and preserve it." In other words, not to leave Šećerana in the water in Belgrade," Nikola Radin, executive director of this organization, told Vreme.
He reminds that this is the eighth attempt to "sell Šećerana". The previous ones failed because no one wanted to buy a protected building because they cannot change its appearance or purpose, much less tear it down and build something more profitable on that spot."
In February 2022, the city government announced that 12 hectares and the Šećerana building were declared a cultural monument, and that the city of Belgrade would buy this cultural and historical asset and turn it into a cultural district.
The ad mentioned by the Agency for Licensing of Bankruptcy Trustees refers to 18 immovable properties of the "First Serbian Sugar Factory Dimitrije Tucović 1898" in bankruptcy, such as the administrative and residential buildings, the main hall and casino, warehouse and noodle dryer, pumping station for dirty industrial water, porter's office. In that complex is also the KPGT Theater Cultural Institution, which has been a city institution since 2021.
Example of Ljubljana
The Agency's advertisement states that in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage, for all interventions on Šećerana and its cadastral plot, it is necessary to obtain the conditions for undertaking technical protection measures and consent to the project and documentation from the competence of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments Belgrade, as well as that the Republic Serbia has the right of first refusal.
Let's remember, in February of last year, the state had a real ancestor purchase of the Geneks tower but she didn't use it, and that's why the cultural monument was bought by Aleksandar Kajmaković, better known as Aca Bosanac, that is, his company "Eureka bar".
In 2008, the city of Ljubljana bought the land and the building of the Sugar Factory, the Ljubljana Sugar Factory, which has been reconstructed and represents the cultural center of the Slovenian capital.
"Belgrade on the move - Get started" launched a petition for the preservation of Šećerana, and Nikola Radin announces that when they collect 5000 signatures, they will submit the petition to the Ministry of Culture.
The potential of Šečerana to become a new cultural district is huge, says Nikola Radin, "it is an ideal space for artists of various disciplines to create and exhibit their works." Inspired by the Ljubljana Sugar Factory, this space could become a center of cultural events, gathering painters, sculptors, musicians and young architects."
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