They wanted the statue to be visible
The Yerevan municipality has not permitted any construction at "Student Park", as stated in the press release by Yerevan municipality.
"It is about upgrading and renovating the two old-fashioned pavilions of the café that has been around since 1996."
Let us remind that a new movement has launched to demand the suspension of construction at "Student Park".
According to the municipality's press release, "the cafes built next to each other occupied larger space. In addition, the park on Abovyan Street and the statue of Victor Hambartsumyan were practically invisible. A group of academics and scientists had raised the issue of the statue's visibility and renovation of the area during the opening of Victor Hambartsumyan's statue. Taking this into account, Yerevan municipality has assigned the contractor to ensure the visibility of Victor Hambartsumyan's statue from Abovyan Street."
According to the assignment, the pavilions have been moved back 3 meters each due to which the width of the alley is now 10.5 meters instead of the previous 4.5 meters. This ensures the statue's visibility and creates a sort of square. Let us also mention that the volume and surface areas of pavilions have become smaller as a result of reconstruction.
The altitude of the pavilion is now 4.30 meters instead of the previous 5.30 meters. According to the confirmed plan, the pavilions will be open in the summer and covered in the winter with mobile glass windows. The company in charge of construction, "Elegant 5" has agreed to renovate the area near the statue based on an agreement with Yerevan municipality.
The tiled floor and rocks of the alley and area near Hambartsumyan's statue will be fully renovated, while the bushes and lawns will be refreshed.
The plan for reconstruction has been developed and confirmed with the exclusion of deforestation. The municipality has not granted any permission for deforestation. As far as illegal deforestation is concerned, the Ministry of Nature Protection is in charge of control and application of sanctions."
The sketch for reconstruction is posted on Abovyan Street and clearly shows that the park will have a new look after construction with a renovated entrance.
No underground structure?
Representatives of "We are the owners of this city" initiative and the municipality held a three-hour discussion yesterday.
"After listening to the group's arguments, the mayor promised to prohibit future construction and exclude underground structures in green areas of Yerevan. Although we did not reach a clear agreement and there was no progress with respect to the issue related to the park, we believe we sent the main message to the mayor," as members of the initiative told "A1+".
