Government heritage renovation plan will have to fight speculator greed

While the government plans to spend at least $100 million renovating some of the historical areas of the city, the question still remains, will they be able to curb the greed of developers for whom history is a passing thought and a national heritage a block to profits.

Recent experiences in Casco Viejo have not augured well for the future, with one developer exceeding height restrictions, another performing “renovation” work on the Central Hotel that has twice led to the destruction of its outer walls. The rest of the building was turned into rubble early on. The shells of other old buildings collapsed and have been rebuilt as 21st century "antiquities."
And the old City Hall has been threatened by no less than iconoclast Boscol Vallarino, the city mayor.
The government intends to extend the Curundú renovation plan to other districts classified in the "high social risk" category; namely, El Chorrillo, Santa Ana, and San Felipe ( including Casco Viejo).
The old city was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in 1997.
In addition to the estimated $78 million it will cost to transform Curundú, the government intends to invest another $20-$30 million for public works projects in the other three districts.
But the State project has created uncertainty among groupss and organizations responsible for protecting the historical heritage of the area.
The Department of Historical Heritage of the National Culture Institute (INAC) and the Office of Casco Antiguo (OCA) claimed to know nothing about the new project being promoted by the Ministry of Housing says La Prensa.
Jaime Zárate, Director of Heritage, said that any construction work carried out in the San Felipe area must obtain the permits required by law, and that the project should be analyzed by the National Commission of Archeology and Historic Monuments to determine its impact on the area.
The Minister of Housing, Carlos Duboy, said he held meetings with these communities to obtain information that would allow MIVI to gauge approximately how many families currently reside there and what is the estimated housing shortage.
The Ministry is identifying the houses that will be eliminated, and the lots that will be cleared by 2011, when renovation work is slated to begin in these three districts.
Santa Ana, representative Jair Martínez, said that he and his counterparts from El Chorrillo and San Felipe met with Duboy three weeks ago, and were told that the new residential housing projects would not exceed three floors – the maximum allowed in the districts.
The MIVI proposal stipulates that the Banco Hipotecario Nacional (national mortgage bank) would provide a convenient mortgage for people who purchase apartments in the new residences, which are expected to cost between $20,000 and $25,000.