The city never had plans to sell the plot at 44 Marywilska Street. The area is wide and covered by multiple claims of the former owners, said Tomasz Bratek, vice-president of Warsaw, about the plot on which the market hall stood, which burned down on Sunday.
Vice-President Bratek explained that the area at 44 Marywilska Street is owned by the city, but is leased by a company that subleases commercial spaces to individual entrepreneurs who run their own businesses here. – There is no local plan here. The agreement was intended for a shopping hall and, as it is a fixed-term agreement, the purpose of the lease cannot be changed, he added.
– The city never had any plans to sell this plot. The area is wide and covered by multiple claims of the former owners, he emphasized.
The complex belonging to the Mirbud group included: nearly 1,400 storeswhose tenants are people of 14 nationalities.
Fire in the shopping center at Marywilska StreetPAP/Leszek Szymański
Merchants from Marywilska previously demanded a reduction in the rent for commercial stalls. There were even protests over this issue.
In March, talks between people trading in the Marywilska 44 complex and the management board of the company renting the boxes to them and a representative of the town hall began at the capital city hall.
Fire at Marywilska 44
On Sunday morning, a fire broke out in the market hall at Marywilska 44. More than 240 firefighters took part in extinguishing the fire, and at the peak there were 99 PSP and Volunteer Fire Department vehicles on site, as well as a drone and a specialized robot. The hall burned down completely and is currently being extinguished. The area is secured by police officers.
“The fire in Hala Marywilska has been brought under control and is currently being extinguished (for a few more hours), which is why State Fire Service crews are still working on site. Firefighters also performed appropriate measurements and found no water or air contamination. At this point, the matter is being dealt with by the Fire Department and the Police. “Do not approach the event site,” the capital city hall announced on social media.
Main photo source: PAP/Leszek Szymański