Academy of Arts Building Faces New Delays
The empty lot in downtown Tallinn that is to become the home of the new Academy of Arts building is likely to stay empty for a while longer as disputes with neighbors have led to construction permit delays.
"Today I can confirm that we would be ready to start construction if we were granted permission, but last week, unfortunately, it became known that two neighbors of the Estonian Academy of Arts do not agree to sign a contract with us, and so we are again in a difficult situation," the academy's rector Signe Kivi told ETV.
The troubled project had already seen its permit process held up in summer by disputes with neighbors concerned that the 16-storey building would block out sunlight. Those difficulties, in turn, came in the wake of tension between the academy and Minister of Education Jaak Aaviksoo about the academy's finances and the escalating cost of the project.
The latest wrinkle in the plan could have implications that will affect far more than the construction schedule. If the academy doesn't secure a building permit by the end of the year it will lose a 12-million-euro grant from the European Regional Development Fund, which was to pay for half the construction costs. Missing the deadline would mean the academy would have to reapply, according to Mart Laidmets, head of the ministry's higher education department.
Kivi said that the academy, the city government and the Ministry of Education should agree on a plan to solve the current problem and move the project forward.
Steve Roman