ITN MPs Propose Lifting Height Restrictions Around Sofia Metro Stations,Sparking progress Debate
Sofia,Bulgaria – Members of the ITN โคparty – Ventsislav Asenov,Hristina Ivanova,and Tanerโข Turkoglu – have submitted a proposal too increase maximum building โคheights around existing Sofia metro stations,potentially triggering a notable reshapingโ of the city’s urbanโ landscape. The proposal seeks to raise the current 100-meter limit,arguing existing restrictions are “not well founded” and hinder development.
Currently, propertiesโค within 400 meters of metro stations in designatedโ mixed-use zones are permitted a maximum height of 100 meters, an โincrease from the general 75-meter limitโ established in areas without specific constructionโข restrictions. This โฃ100-meter allowance was introducedโ in 2018 โthrough amendments to the โคLaw on the Structure โandโ Construction ofโค the capital, with the โขstated โgoal of leveraging โคimproved transportโ access.โค however, certain areas – Triaditsa, Lozenets, Mladost, and Sunrise – were explicitlyโฃ excluded from this โคrule.
The ITN MPs are particularly concerned with properties along Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd. in the Mladost region, which, due to the exclusion โขof โthe area, cannot benefit from the higher construction limitโข despite facing secondary โand tertiary streets. They argue extending the 125-meterโข height allowance to these properties โwould be a logical submissionโข of the โฃexisting norm, and beleive the change should applyโ to all zones surrounding existing metro โstations not specifically excluded.The proposal arrives amidst ongoing public scrutinyโค of โคhigh-rise construction projects in โSofiaโค and concerns โขabout already congested areas around metro stations. Criticsโ point to the rapid redevelopment already occurring in โthese zones and question โขthe necessity of further increasing building density. Former Chief architect Zdravko Zdravkov previously explained that the initial heightโ restrictions were adopted quickly alongside changes to the general developmentโ plan.