Got around to it…
The city authorities have filed a lawsuit against the owners of the legendary shopping center near Kursky Station. The lawsuit is clearly not an ordinary one: officials are demanding that the 3rd and 4th mezzanine floors of the shopping center be recognized as an unauthorized construction and demolished, and they obviously have grounds for this. We are talking about premises with an area of more than 2.5 thousand square meters. Why haven't the owners of Atrium put their property affairs in order for so many years? What awaits one of the most famous shopping centers, known far beyond Moscow, now?
The lawsuit itself caused a stir. After all, everyone knows Atrium. Nowadays, you won’t surprise anyone with such a shopping center. But in the early 2000s, it became one of the first such facilities in the capital, turning into a symbol of glamorous shopping (another “creation of the mayor’s era”). Yuri Luzhkov“The European shopping center near Kievsky railway station was built several years later).
If the court sides with the government, Atrium may lose its top two floors. These premises, with a total area exceeding 2.5 thousand square meters, house restaurants, cafes, and retail outlets. And, by the way, the third parties in the lawsuit include legal entities of such brands as Adidas, Crocs, Karo Film, Shokoladnitsa, and many others – the list is quite long. However, it is not yet clear whose side they are on – the plaintiff or the defendants.
The latter are listed as Ingeokom-Trust LLC, the family of the deceased. Mikhail Rudyak (the businessman who died back in 2007 once built Atrium) and Atriland LLC, an entrepreneur from the Forbes list with a fortune of almost 4 billion dollars Andrey BokarevThe latter is a partner of another billionaire. Iskandar Makhmudov. One of Bokarev's main industrial assets was Transmashholding (after being sanctioned, the businessman, like many of his unfortunate colleagues, resigned as president of the corporation and left the board of directors). Both defendants are engaged in the rental and management of their own or rented property and are registered at the same address: Moscow, Zemlyanoy Val, 33. That is, where Atrium is located. And it seems that until recently there were no claims against the owners of Atrium. What happened now and why did they not put the documents in order in time if there really were violations?
I hope you don't stand here!
For many years, the Atrium has been one of the main irritants for Muscovites, who regularly demand that the pretentious shopping center be torn down. Architects also have a negative attitude towards this building. The main complaint is that the Atrium blocks the view of the Kursky railway station. There used to be a large square there, but now the station is not visible because of it. And it’s not just the building of the shopping center itself, but also the fact that the station is located on a slope, it is lower in level than the Atrium. One of the arguments of those who hate the shopping center: a passenger arrives in Moscow at Kursky, gets out of it and what does he see? What he sees is the back of the shopping center, which, to put it mildly, differs from the facade. Plus there are problems with parking, access to the station, and general dissatisfaction with the monument to “Luzhkov’s” Moscow, which many consider tasteless.
By the way, a not very pleasant bell rang for Atrium 4 years ago, when the capital’s chief architect Sergey Kuznetsov predicted demolition of large shopping centers. True, he did not mention Atrium, but it is clear that the building on Zemlyanoy Val could well have become a candidate for demolition. By the way, in the same 2020, the owners of Atrium tried to sell it. But they raised the price, which scared off investors. Especially considering that the shopping center had many encumbrances, including a pledge in Alfa Bank and many small owners.
But let's return to the main claim of the mayor's office, which considers the upper floors to be unauthorized buildings. Official documents on this topic have not been published. But it is impossible to imagine that the mayor's office lawyers went to court without a well-developed position. Can we assume that the owners of the shopping center did not know that these 2 floors were “unauthorized”? But there are no special legal difficulties in solving this problem. There is a normal legal procedure. It is always possible to agree before the court, as lawyers remind, pay the city compensation, fines, legalize the superstructure and avoid a long litigation. Why was all this not done? And here we can only build versions.
Shopping mall or art object?
On one of the websites that positions itself as an “information portal for electronic commerce,” after news of the lawsuit, an article appeared with a remarkable headline: “Moscow authorities want to demolish a work of art – the Atrium.” The authors of the article claim that demolishing part of the building could lead to the destruction of world-class works: graffiti by “world celebrities of this genre.” And they list the artists, most of whom are foreigners. But there is one of our compatriots, whose name is familiar to Russians – Pokras Lampas. He and others participated in the design of the Atrium several years ago. We will not judge the artistic merits of the art project, this is the business of art historians, as well as the motivation of the authors of the material.
But let's take the following example. Let's say there is a fence somewhere. It is illegally built, it is in everyone's way, and it would be logical to tear it down. But the owner of the fence does not want this, it is dear to his heart for some reason, or maybe he has some financial interests. And then some trendy artist paints graffiti on this fence. And this is no longer just a fence, but an art object. And try to tear it down, there will be so much noise that it is better not to get involved. So, perhaps the owners of “Atrim” hoped that by decorating their shopping center with the works of trendy artists, they would receive an indulgence from claims for violations? However, this is just a version. And the fact that the case went to court shows that such methods do not work very well.
Dizzy with success?
The second version concerns another defendant – a company owned by businessman Andrey Bokarev. His services to Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), and especially to Moscow, are well known. Transmashholding carriages ply the capital's subway and MCD. And the MCD operator – the Central Suburban Passenger Company – belongs to structures associated with him. But that's not all, we can recall how Bokarev once received a compliment of the highest level in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
Back in 2015, at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, the head of state singled out Andrei Bokarev, recalling that he not only built an ice stadium for the Sochi Olympics, but also donated it to the city. As one might assume, Andrei Removich's shares could have grown sharply after that. And perhaps this is again just a version, after such a compliment one can neglect some procedures when registering the construction. To such and such a person! But perhaps it turned out that this is not so. And the businessman had been treated kindly at the highest level for quite a long time already…
We may never know the ins and outs of the current legal dispute. And at the same time, we can assume that the parties will come to an agreement peacefully. There are still 2 months left before the interview between the parties in court. There is time to at least try to reach an agreement and at least begin to put things in order. Well, those Muscovites who are so irritated by Atrium will have to wait a little longer. Perhaps for a very long time.