House collapse in Colonial Zone prompts expropriations deadline

Santo Domingo.- The partial collapse of a large colonial-era house on Meriño street Monday, which injured three people, has once again revealed the advanced deterioration and abandonment of a large part of the buildings of the capital’s Colonial Zone.

A 2010 report by the Santo Domingo City Council’s Consistorial Department lists 72 buildings which pose a threat to their tenants as well as to pedestrians. Of those 72, the authorities have managed to identify only 14 of their proprietors.

In a notice published yesterday, the City Council issued a deadline until next Monday, to the owners of those houses to start to rebuild and repair them, or face expropriation and the auction block.

Historical Center director Xiomara Espaillat Wednesday said the owners of the houses are being identified through the National Cadastre Agency, to issue notices them and begin the legal process. “The idea was what occurred yesterday that it didn’t happen, that everybody came to solve their problem quickly, but the case is that the proprietors justify not repairing them because they want to modify the building and regrettably we must abide by the norms (03-2011, 08-2011), which state that the modifications planned cannot alter how that house was originally.”