The Lviv City Council has appealed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General over the case involving the Dobrobut market. This was announced by the Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, during an executive committee meeting Lviv City Council.
As explained by the director of the legal department of the Lviv City Council, Helena Payonkyevych, back in the 1990s, the city council intended to ensure the construction of a five-star hotel behind the opera house. For this purpose, LLC ‘Galinvest’ was created, into whose charter capital a significant amount of property was contributed, including land plots on Zemelna and Tajytska streets, as well as a building on Mitskevych Square.
However, instead of a hotel, the city faced a case of pseudo-bankruptcy and illegal exclusion from the company’s participants. In 2020, ‘Galinvest’ went to court to assign a cadastral number to the land plot without involving the city council. This allowed the registration of ownership rights to an illegal supermarket.
Since the 2020s, the Lviv City Council has been engaged in legal proceedings to reclaim the land plot and annul the ownership rights to the structure. The city’s position has been supported by two relevant ministries: the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Ministry of Justice.
“This crime began after gaining independence. Yes, this company was registered in Moscow, if my memory serves me right, which acted as a partner for the construction of this object. I think these cases should be studied as educational examples in our Lviv universities in the law faculties to show what scams can occur, and on the other hand, that the city authorities must maintain their position, regardless of when this crime began,” emphasized the Mayor of Lviv.
The city has announced an architectural competition for the former Dobrobut market area, where they plan to create a modern barrier-free space with a single recreational park covering 1.4 hectares. The project envisions two stages: the improvement of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl Square and the reconstruction of the Dobrobut market area.