Casa Radio

Casa Radio is an unfinished Romanian building in Bucharest, near Cotroceni, on the shore of the Dâmboviţa River. It was erected during the late 1980s by the Communist regime over the terrain which used to be the Bucharest Hippodrome before World War II, and was intended to serve as a museum of the Romanian Communist Party. [Rodica Danicluc, [http://www.romanialibera.ro/articol-Turco-britanicii-si-au-adus-intariri-din-Olanda-si-Israel-87458.htm "Turco-britanicii şi-au adus "întăriri" din Olanda şi Israel" ("The Turkish-British Partners Have Brought 'Reinforcements' from Holland and Israel")] , "România Liberă", 17 February 2007.] The balcony of the unfinished building facing Ştirbei Vodă Street was used by the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu on 23 August 1989 to watch the festivities marking Romania's National Day. It was the last Communist-style parade in Romania.

The Romanian government contracted the construction of a hotel and a mall called "Dâmboviţa Center" to the Turkish company Cenk Vefa Kucuk. The project was supposed to be a $275 million investment and the largest multipurpose complex in the region. It was supposed to build a 300-room hotel, 69,000 m² of retail spaces, 16,000 m² of offices, 45,000 m² of commercial galleries and a residential complex, designed to include 200 apartments, a parking lot, restaurants and a hospital. The government, which provided the building, would get only 10% of the income.

The government canceled the contract in 2005 [ro icon "Jurnalul Naţional", [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_34614/stirile_zilei.html "Casa Radio - Contractul va fi reziliat" ("Radio House - The contract will be canceled")] ] because of various irregularities regarding the auction, the company and the financing [ro icon "Jurnalul Naţional", [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_40497/dambovita_center__un_proiect_cu_multe_semne_de_intrebare.html "Dâmboviţa center, un proiect cu multe semne de intrebare ("Dambovita Center, a project with many question marks")] by László Borbély, November 14, 2005] . The company said it would sue to recover the money already invested [ ro icon "Jurnalul Naţional", [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_40499/casa_radio_va__ajunge_la_londra.html "Casa Radio va ajunge la Londra" ("Radio House goes to London")] , November 14, 2005] .

In the winter of 2006, a public-private partnership agreement between Elbit, an Israeli company, and the Romanian government was announced to develop Casa Radio [MSN Money, [http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Symbol=US:EMITF&Feed=PR&Date=20061130&ID=6237209 "Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. Announces Plaza Centers N.V. Receives Final Approval for Mega Project in Bucharest"] , November 30, 2006] . The Romanian Government will remain a 15% partner in the scheme. Construction began in June 2007, after a decision to demolish 70% of the initial building ["Evenimentul Zilei", " [http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=308452 The Radio House, demolished] ", June 7, 2007] , keeping only the facade and the structural framework.

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