A battle has been going on for more than a year by a Poznan developer to get permission to build a housing development in a historic fort. Residents and community activists are protesting, but the authorities and some councilors are rather sympathetic to the investment, which is not allowed by the local plan. An opinion favoring the developer was provided by NIAiU. A different position was taken by monument specialists from ICOMOS.
"The approval for the investment in Fort VIIa is justified," says an expert opinion commissioned by the city of Poznań from the National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism. "The investment should not be approved ," responds the Polish National Committee of the International Council for Monument Protection ICOMOS, supporting the voice of community activists, naturalists and MP Franciszek Sterczewski who last Monday once again protested against the plans for the military monument.
This is another installment of the battle that is being waged over the future of Fort VIIa in Poznan's Marcelin (at Strzegomska and Walbrzyska streets). The structure, along with the surrounding area (9.5 hectares), is one of eighteen such structures surrounding the city. The Prussian army had been building them since the 1870s. The forts formed a second belt of fortifications, distant from the borders of Poznan at the time. The first were compact fortifications, with which the city was squeezed since the 1820s, transformed into a fortress. It was not until 1900 that Poznań freed itself from the directly surrounding corset of ramparts and entrance gates.
Instead, a ring of forts was preserved. Most of them have survived to this day - some in very good condition, others - dilapidated. The structures, most often overgrown and surrounded by a dense stand of trees, are in the hands of various owners who have no idea and/or money for interesting development of the military legacy. Only Fort VII serves as the Museum of the Martyrdom of Greater Poland.
investor offensive
Fort VIIa, located near the museum, was bought from the army by Constructa Plus in 2002, shortly after the local plan was passed, which banned the construction of apartments in the area. The entire site and buildings are supervised by a conservationist. It is also protected in part by the Natura 2000 area. More than a year ago, however, the developer launched a campaign to convert the fort's buildings into a community activity center for a dozen or so entities (which the plan allows) and surrounding residential buildings. Twelve 5- and 6-story houses (at least 250 apartments) with underground garages would stand on the now heavily wooded battle slope of the fort surrounding the brick monument. The design for both projects was made by the Litoborski+Marciniak studio from Poznan.
For the realization of the activity center, the investor received a grant from EU funds (almost 15 million zlotys), which, according to Constructa's statement, will cover part of the costs (the total: over 37 million zlotys). The rest would be financed by the construction of the houses, of course - not without expected profit. In the numerous declarations and conversations the developer had with councilors, community members and the media, there were promises that - once transformed - the now-closed fort would become a public place to enliven the neighborhood. However, while the visualizations and plans for the activity center do not cause major objections, the construction of the blocks of flats raises huge controversies, especially since Constructa Plus wants to take advantage of the so-called developer's lex mode.
Visualization of the adaptation of Fort VIIa in Poznań
proj. Litoborski+Marciniak © Constructa Plus
Why doesn't the developer want to change the local plan? As he declared, he cares about the time associated with the grant. Hence the intensive efforts to convince the city authorities and, above all, the councilors, who will make the final decision on the matter, to make the change. When questioned by the media last year, they did not say a firm "no," some decision-makers spoke approvingly of the developer's intentions, favorable sentences came from the City Historic Preservation Officer, although in 2018 both officials and councilors sharply criticized the provisions of the so-called developer's lex. The good PR of the developer, who two years ago reverently restored the exterior of a ruined tenement in the Old City on Ogrodowa Street (designed by CDF Architects, J.B. Quadro Award for 2020), probably helped soften the stance.
A front of opponents
However, protests against the investment are being made by, among others, Poznań social activists, neighborhood councilors and representatives of nature associations. Also critical are fortification enthusiasts, who have been working for years to educate people about the military heritage of Festung Posen. During meetings and discussions, they pointed to the underestimated number of trees scheduled for cutting (the investor spoke of about 1,500 pieces, naturalists point out that much more could go under the axe). The opponents also pointed out that the monument is not just the fort's brick structure, but the entire foundation - including the moat, foreground and earthen ramparts.
It was also impossible to extract a clear declaration from the investor: how long he intends to rent the premises to social entities on preferential terms. What resounded, however, was a well-founded fear that in the future Constructa Plus (which does not intend to hand over the social center to the city) could close the fort again at any time or sell it at a profit without paying the planning fee (which would be the case if the mzp was amended).
Visualization of the adaptation of fort VIIa in Poznań
proj. Litoborski+Marciniak © Constructa Plus
Finally, in March last year, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection came to the rescue of naturalists and refused to give environmental approval for Constructa Plus' investment, which prevented the city from issuing an environmental decision:
The quality of the documentation attached to the application did not allow a reliable assessment of the impact of this investment on the natural environment.
The RDOŚ pointed out that the scale of the cutting was not sufficiently specified. Constructa Plus requested a suspension of the proceedings, supplemented the documents and in December Mayor Jacek Jaskowiak issued the environmental decision.
expertise under fire
Almost simultaneously, in November, the magistrate received the expert opinion, mentioned at the beginning of the text, in favor of the investment, ordered by the city from NIAiU for 45 thousand zlotys. The document, commissioned by the Institute, was signed by its head Boleslaw Stelmach and professors Slawomir Gzell and Cezary Gluszek. The position of the Polish National Committee of ICOMOS, as reported by Gazeta Wyborcza in early January, turned out to be a strong counter to the expertise. In a document sent to the chairman of the Poznan City Council, ICOMOS experts call for the abandonment of the construction of the houses, pointing to the
disintegration of the authentic, well-preserved structure of the fort, degradation of the historic values of the site and the natural environment.
What will the city do in this matter and how will the councilors decide? It is already known that the investment is going to be opposed by representatives of the Law and Justice Party and the Joint Poznań Committee. However, the majority in the City Council is held by the Civic Coalition club, which includes Mayor Jaskowiak, who is in favor of the investment.
