Filenews 19 June 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Almost flattened the preserves of the Archdiocese as shown by the photos published by "F" and the anxiety as to whether they will actually be rebuilt or completely demolished, intensifies.
When "F" wrote a few days ago that instead of starting the reconstruction they continue to reduce the height of the walls, we were told that work was indeed being carried out to limit the height of the walls, but this concerns the removal of deconstructed materials (brick), which can no longer be used.
As the photos show, the height of the walls has been reduced to a minimum, which raises suspicions that in the minds of the owners it is not their reconstruction, but their disappearance. This is also reinforced by the views that have begun to see the light of day that the preserved ones are not in line with the cathedral. It is noted that the cathedral, especially in its present form, is considered a foreign body in this area, in relation to the listed buildings that were demolished and erected decades ago.
Moreover, the Archbishop's desire to change the use of buildings so that instead of forming a gallery, as originally planned, larger openings are created so that the space can be used as a living room for coffee after the functions in the cathedral. Already, as written, the walls have been reduced to the point where it tends to create a single space instead of separate rooms, as they were before they were demolished.
Regarding the change of the use of a building, the Engineer of the Municipality Mrs. Koula Ioannou had mentioned to "F", that the Archbishop wishes to create the openings in a three-room so that it looks like a single space.
The fact remains that while the removal of the flimsy materials was expected to be completed by the end of May. Initially, the Municipal Engineer had said that restoration work would begin around the end of April, but it appears that the study was delayed by about two weeks and the start of the work would follow. Finally, until yesterday, no movement was made in this direction. The reconstruction would be led by excavation next to the foundations in order to strengthen them.
It should be noted that before the removal of the brick was started, plaster was removed from the walls. In addition, the windows from which some will be repaired, have been removed and where the damage is deemed irreparable, replaced with new ones.
The former Director of Urban Planning, Mrs. Athena Aristotle, who took on the role of coordinator, in the reconstruction process, assured that she would monitor the project.
As is well known, the preserved buildings were demolished on 1 February 2021 and while at first the Archdiocese assured that their reconstruction procedures would be initiated as soon as possible, four months had already passed without any substantial steps being taken in this direction.
He also stated that work would begin from the stone building in the south to the side of the mansion of Hatzigeorgakis Kornesios, which did not suffer the same extent of damage as the other two listed houses. The Municipality Engineer estimated that the restoration work will be completed one year from the day they begin.
It is noted that although the plans were the reconstruction of the preserved buildings in parallel with the construction of the cathedral, the church has already been inaugurated while the work on the preserved buildings remains essentially stagnant.
