The first stage of the controversial competition for chief architect has finished, in which the candidates had to answer in writing about 30 questions. The event was broadcasted in real time with very low public interest. All participants were obviously struggling with the questions, except for the expected winner of the competition, who knows the answers and this is architect Bogdana Panayotova. Because she is the desired candidate of Mayor Terziev, she was also the person who first completed the list of questions and left the room, long before anyone else.
A week before that, the municipal councilors from GERB-UDF in the Sofia Municipal Council (SMC) called on Terziev to terminate the parody competition, expressing doubts about the transparency of the procedure, as well as the fact that the selection committee is not sufficiently representative. "In her composition was a visible real estate agent for rent, who will choose the chief architect of Sofia! But this is the Change, do not be surprised!
"The new chief architect of Sofia must be chosen transparently," said Terziev six months ago. Is this true?
See for yourself how the "transparent" choice looks. At the moment, the position of acting chief architect of Sofia is held by arch. Stefan Asparuhov, who took over after the six-month term of arch. Bogdana Panayotova expired. Arch. Asparuhov has been the chief architect of Elin Pelin and deputy minister of regional development in 2022 in the government of Kiril Petkov.
The appointment of arch. Panayotova as acting chief architect was accompanied by a series of criticisms related to her decisions. One of them is the cancellation of a decision from 2019 on the construction of the National Palace of Culture." Approval for the construction of a pumping station for Pancharevo and Kokalyane, the approval for the construction of a six-story office building in close proximity to the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the order to place 12 pavilions on private property at the entrance of the Traffic Police, without coordination with the Izgrev district administration, the permit for a new complex in "Lager" with suspicions of pushing aside the historic "Balkanton" building for Bulgarian music.
Arch. Panayotova was criticized by the ruling majority represented by GERB-UDF, BSP, and TISP, as well as by the municipality of "Save Sofia", led by Terziev.
Despite her initial statements that she will not participate in the competition for chief architect, on her last day in office, Panayotova announced her intention to run for the position. And she did.
This further infuriated the municipal councilors from all political parties. GERB-UDF came out with an intentionally angry statement.
"We are deeply concerned by the way the competition is being conducted. For us, the current competition organized by Terziev and his team reflects their concept for choosing a chief architect. In any case, the concept is not to choose a chief architect who is a visionary. They are more interested in choosing a servant to carry out decisions made by Terziev and his councilors. This is a clear degradation of the role of the chief architect of the Sofia Municipality. There is a lack of a development concept for the city. Terziev has no vision. This city is turning into a service for greedy builders. And for this battle of the chief architect, the names of architects Dochev, Andonova, and Kovachev are being brought up." Bogdana Panayotova and another with a little name Martina. These are the two names. "The competition is already predetermined and corrupted," said municipal council member from GERB-SDS Anna Stoykova. I
n professional circles, it was clear that participating in this competition was more than meaningless, because the humiliation of being a part of a spectacle that is directed cannot be a sufficient motivation. We can already "congratulate" architect Bogdana Panayotova and Mayor Vasil Terziev for perfectly organizing this meaningless competition where the winner was determined before its conclusion, outraged officials say.
As a member of Terziev's team and temporarily occupying the position of interim chief architect in Sofia Municipality for 6 months, Bogdana Panayotova practically participated in the conception of the rules for the competition and there is no force that can convince us that she doesn't know the answer to every question, the solution to every case that candidates may encounter in the first 2 rounds, revealing the secrets behind the scenes of the municipal administration.
However, in the end, she will not win with complete unanimity, due to the fact that two members of the commission are not under the control of Sofia Municipality.
Society will not see a vision for the city from the future chief architect. Because there is none!
Is this crucial position in the municipality about to be rendered meaningless and turned into a tool for personal and party interests?
For the first time, municipal councilors from all groups in SMC united in a categorical demand to the mayor to stop the procedure and start it again - this time with wide representation and public presentation of the candidates for the development of the city.
And since this will not happen, it is important for the citizens of Sofia to be aware of the professional qualities of the announced winner.
Bogdana Panayotova wins the competition for chief architect of Sofia, the word is going around all the departments in SMC.
So let's see a professional biography of Arch. Bogdana Panayotova.
It is a common practice in Bulgaria for chief architects to control and manage their own companies through proxies, usually close relatives, to whom they direct the more lucrative investment intentions.
This model is not unfamiliar to Bogdana Panayotova, who for many years has held positions in the state administration of Haskovo and Svilengrad, initially as Chief of the RDBNC, and later as Chief Architect of Haskovo and Svilengrad. During the period in which she held these administrative positions, her company "En Ar Consult" was also founded, which is managed by her mother Nikolina Atanasova Panayotova. The goal was to redirect opportunities from the positions she held. Since Mrs. Panayotova changed her name several times, she is known in Haskovo by the last name of her second husband, Hasanrdzhieva. The administrative career of Arch. Panayotova ended after numerous opportunities arose for her to personally head. This also gave a rapid start to the family business.
Bogdana Panayotova has participated in more than 200 projects related to public procurement and European funding and is one of the most experienced and desired partners. Her company is close to GERB in order to guarantee participation in European projects related to the metro, highway construction and renovation. To ensure that she will somehow be part of these money flows, as a construction supervisor she participates in intercompany agreements in the lawfully conducted tenders, from which she almost always emerges as the winner. She is either the winner or a subcontractor of the winning company, despite being a participant in the same competition.
In 2021, a never-ending public scandal erupted related to repairs of dams. The political trend has changed after the protests in 2020 and GERB is no longer in power. "Against Boyko Borisov's government, Panayotova is turning to the strong ones of the day - We continue the change. Behind the quality of road repairs and the scandals surrounding the reservoirs, Bogdana Panayotova clashes directly with Ivan Shishkov, who is one of the main accusers in the eruption of these scandals. In the saga of reservoirs without building permits, only the supervising company of Arch. Panayotova has compiled 11 acts of violations by DNSK.
In all this chaos, in which Bogdana Panayotova is a central participant, she expresses different positions in interpreting the laws over the years and opposes one institution or another in a direct clash." She is known as a person who can be obsessed with her own righteousness to such an extent that even today she cannot find a way out of conflicts created by her own actions. It was her ruthlessness that was involved in one of the recent scandals which led to her departure from the position of interim chief architect of Sofia. It was found that in the institution she was entrusted with, there was a room on the 4th floor where 8 boxes of documents were locked, dedicated to promoting the institution.As Bogdana Panayotova herself explains: it was a locked public project. This precedent will likely lead to court cases, as there are definitely parties involved and the attempt to cover up this unprecedented act was completely unsuccessful, despite the threats directed at all employees in the "Architecture and Urban Planning" Directorate. Threats related to immediate dismissal if information is leaked to the media.
Why will architect Bogdana Panayotova become chief architect, as municipal officials of all colors already claim.
Panayotova has her long-standing connections with the family of Mayor Vasil Terziev and is very close to Adriana Popova, considered the grey cardinal in the Sofia Municipality.
Popova is the actual ruler and controller of all processes in the municipality. In the group around the mayor, who manages the real Capital Municipality, they failed to find a place for either the coalition partners from Save Sofia or architect Lyubo Georgiev. Those dedicated to how our capital will be governed do not allow for coincidences, as well as people who can defend personal and professional positions. Investments in the capital in the area of construction are clearly divided into those that have a direct interest and will develop without problems, and those that will remain locked. There is a danger that the development of the city will become a hostage to a handful of well-organized people with their own interests above everything.
Only time will tell how much money the companies of Chief Architect Panayotova, under the wise management of her nearly 80-year-old mother, will continue to make.
It is certain that the company that built the Telerik building, the same one from which Mayor Terziev recently acquired a high-rise apartment with a view of Vitosha, will never have problems with civil disturbances, nor will anyone check at what price per square meter the mayor bought his apartment, nor will we hear that some of the buildings are not where they are supposed to be built.
One thing is clear - some investors in Sofia will be administratively pressured, just so that the real estate market can gradually be controlled by the right people.
The prices per square meter will increase significantly, despite the common belief among people that Sofia is being overbuilt. In reality, a deficit will be generated, and the demand will increase.
Inter-company wars will stimulate new levels of corruption, but at least now it is clear who will be personally responsible for everything that happens. These are the mayor of the capital Vasil Terziev, who announced that he takes on all responsibilities related to urban planning, Adriana Popova, for whom we will not stop asking what administrative position she holds in Sofia Municipality, and the whole close circle, along with the new chief architect of the capital Bogdana Panayotova.
Mayor of Sofia Vasil Terziev seems not to realize that he is on the verge of completely losing his image as the mayor of our capital, as a reformer mayor. In front of the media, he talks more about how he is constantly hindered, how he is pressured, and how he is sabotaged. Terziev promotes his image as a weak good guy, whose main goal is for Sofia to become a worthy European capital. Behind this, however, lies the delegated power of people who govern, who arrange positions, who engage in inter-party intrigues and create conditions for the realization of multimillion profits from close economic circles.
We are certain that none of the players in the Sofia municipality are aware that this is not the beginning, but the end of a sad management of the capital city.
9413 | 25 March 2025 | 14:50
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