UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2018. Sverdlovsk Region’s public prosecution authorities are now investigating the town council’s alleged plans to pull down an apartment building at 40 Karl Liebknecht St to make room for Sverdlovsk Philharmonic’s new concert hall, their press service reports.

The prosecution authorities have asked for and obtained all the papers relating to the case so they can assess the actions taken by the officials in charge, the governmental bodies, and the philharmonic’s administration, whose task is to coordinate auctions and select contractors to inspect the apartment building’s condition and to determine whether the building meets the fire safety requirements.

The authorities are also looking into the papers relating to a recent inspection of the building’s condition; they will also have to determine whether the ballot results from the recent town council-coordinated public hearings on the urban planning within Clara Zetkin St-Turgenev St- Pervomayskaya St-Karl Liebknecht St can be deemed valid.

Finally, under investigation are issues related to how Sverdlovsk Philharmonic spent the funding provided for the inspection of the condominium at 40 Karl Liebknecht St.

‘The public prosecution authorities have earlier reacted to a complaint placed by the home owners in the building, who claimed the public hearing procedure had not been carried out properly. The response did not dwell on the aspects of the case the authorities are currently investigating. The entire inquest is now under our special supervision,’ their press service says.

Now Sverdlovsk Region Construction Ministry announced on September 25, 2018 that a contractor was selected to present the architectural concept for Sverdlovsk Philharmonic’s new concert hall. The prospective contractor, London-based Zaha Hadid Architects, proposed putting up the hall within Clara Zetkin St-Turgenev St- Pervomayskaya St-Karl Liebknecht St; this would necessitate pulling down the apartment building at 40 Karl Liebknecht St and getting rid of a number of parks nearby.

It was determined in the course of the prosecution authorities’ earlier inspection that the decision to actually pull the building down hadn’t been taken; nor did the town council confirm the urban planning scheme for the location in question.