In the “December 21” area, on Kavaja Street, next to “Kindergarten No. 24”, “Kindergarten No. 43” and “Community Mental Health Center No. 2”, a 20-story tower with four underground floors is being built.
Work on the construction site continues, despite the fact that institutional care for children and people with mental health concerns is provided around it. The space between the institutions and the construction site is "wall to wall".
Citizens.al journalists were interested in obtaining information about whether there were consultations with institutions regarding the project in question. The kindergarten told us that the information comes through the Directorate of Kindergartens and Nurseries of Tirana.
Employees claimed they cannot publicly comment on the project without authorization from management, which was not available for comment.
Concern about social impact
The tower is called "Nomad Building", it was designed by the studio "Dalmat Architecture" and is being developed by the company "Artech Group".
The project received development permission from the government on April 2, 2024, and a construction permit about a month later. The permit violated the rule set by the General Local Plan (PPV), which stipulated a construction intensity of 2.8 for the area and a maximum height of 8 floors.
As we have previously analyzed on Citizens.al, the norm of the PPV and PDV criteria can be exceeded through decisions of the National Council for Territory and Water (KKTU), a body headed by the Prime Minister.
With its decisions, the KKTU can establish exceptions to the regulations. However, the frequency of these "exceptions" has made exceeding the general plan and rising to higher intensity and heights the norm.
In the tower project, the construction intensity is 8.8 and the height has reached 20 floors.
The developers say they are providing a solution to the area that until 2024 had a chaotic urban structure with mainly 1-story buildings, and that at the end of the project, about 60% of the land area will be given over for use as public space.
However, the fact that the project is being developed next to three institutions that provide health and education services is worrying. The works will take place until 00:00 and in the later stages it may have an even greater impact with noise or dust levels.
A repeating pattern
The construction of towers near educational institutions or public services is no longer an isolated case in Tirana.
In the former Bllok, residents of three buildings near the 9-year school “Emin Duraku” protested against a 16-story tower that began to be built there. The case is currently being pursued in court, while fieldwork has continued.
On “Bajram Curri” Boulevard, a plan for a 19-story tower next to the 9-year “1 Maji” school has also been made public. A similar scenario is planned to follow near Kindergarten No. 41 on “Rruga Pjetër Budi”, where a 9-story building is expected to be built next to the kindergarten wall.
In other cases, developments have also foreseen the relocation of existing institutions. One of them is the "Zyber Hallulli" orphanage, which is expected to be relocated from its current site and reorganized in the area of the former German villas.
In its place, the construction of three towers with up to 35 floors is planned. Thus, "wall-to-wall" developments with public institutions are becoming the norm, while transparency and consultation with the community still remain unclear. /Citizens.al/
