It took six months to get a response from the Superintendence on the redevelopment project of the former Aermacchi area. Paolo Orrigoni had never intervened directly on the issue. Not even when he had seen projects that seemed to have been approved at every formal stage overturned.
On the evening of Thursday 20 June published a post on Facebook commenting on what is happening. “After years of not writing anything, today I make an appropriate exception. I share a sad thought. You work for years to try to build a super interesting and modern project to recover a degraded area of the city, wanting to create a UNIQUE sports facility to donate to a city association, you also get an initial approval and then you start to clean up and demolish and in the meantime you do application for building permit… AFTER over 6 months of absolute silence comes the answer: we were joking, we don’t like what you want to do”.
HOW THINGS ARE IN THE EX AERMACCHI AREA OF VARESE
Beyond what had already happened three years ago with the Superintendence which had intervened calling into question the entire plan now approved and stopping the workthe situation had recently stalled again. On 11 June TIGROS SpA, after six months of silence, wrote a reminder letter to the Municipality of Varese and for information to the Superintendence asking to start building.
“In the last 6 months – write the company representatives – Numerous meetings were held in which our company always proved to be very collaborative and active in providing all the requests for clarification that were submitted to us, and made concrete proposals to resolve all the problems encountered. To date, we are still waiting to receive responses from both the Municipality and the Superintendency, which are fundamental for the continuation of the development of the project and the completion of the required technical documents. The undersigned company has already taken steps to reclaim the site from all components containing amiantiferous matrices, including those present on properties declared to be of cultural interest, to the demolition of non-listed buildings (with the exception of those not yet released by the Municipality), as well as to preliminary activities for land reclamation. The above was carried out in good faith, following a specific request from the Municipality, in order to promptly implement what was agreed, trusting that the administrative process could also be concluded within the normal technical times”.
Final green light for the redevelopment of the former Aermacchi area in Varese: work can begin
Last November 15th, TIGROS SpA, had stipulated the Urban Planning Agreement for the implementation of the Integrated Intervention Plan with the Municipality of Varese, issuing guarantees for a total amount exceeding seven million euros. An important figure which generates significant costs for the company month after month. Other passages are indicated in the same letter. “We underline that the Landscape Commission of the Municipality of Varese was held only on 05/16/2024, which proposed the acceptance of the project”.
THE LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENCE
Following the reminder letter from TIGROS the cold shower arrived. The Superintendency immediately asks a formal question. “We remind you that, in accordance with the law, landscape authorization procedures are conducted by the local authority, and it is the latter that requests the required binding opinion from the Superintendence, having the nature of an endo-procedural act”. A position that on the one hand leaves the responsibility of deciding to the Municipality. On the other hand, however, in the continuation of the letter he takes a position on the merits of the work.
“At the same time – writes the Superintendence – with respect to some intervention proposals presented in a still non-definitive form on the two buildings subject to monumental protection, as well as other aspects of the project which affect the two current protection profiles, monumental and landscape, we communicate some indications directly to this Company.
1. The restoration of Hangar 1914 must take place while preserving the vertical wall structures, including the longitudinal frame ones, even if appropriately consolidated. For the choice of the consolidation technique, this Office is available for a preventive examination of the possible solutions. The definitive project for the consolidation, restoration and refunctionalization intervention must be submitted to this Office to obtain authorization pursuant to art. 21 of Legislative Decree 42/2004.
2. For the refunctionalization of Hangar 1952, further reflection and discussion is requested with this Office regarding the opportunity of not building the intermediate floor. This is in order to respect the internal spatiality, which represents one of the distinctive elements of the building, and whose sacrifice does not seem justifiable by a greater usable surface area, which is also penalized in the quality and comfort of two particularly ‘crushed’ levels.
For the consolidation and strengthening of vertical structures it is proposed to study solutions that add elements, avoiding the drowning of existing ones within a concrete casting which would make them invisible. In this regard, we highlight the existence of many examples of large swimming pools built with exposed metal structures. Finally, the need to consider the relevance of the east facade on the urban scene is underlined, recommending studying a non-invasive insertion of the fire escape.
3. The east façade of Hangar 1952 cannot be clad in the model of the new buildings.
4. For the treatment of the facades of the new sports-commercial complex, a slight chromatic differentiation is requested between historical parts and new buildings.
5. The simple trilithic portal that characterized the entrance to the factory on Via Sanvito, aligned with the water tank, will have to be re-proposed.
6. Regarding the use of the square, confirmation with formal commitment of the proposal is hoped for
THE EFFECTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENCE’S INDICATIONS
The Superintendency had already intervened in the past, blocking the original project and asking to maintain parts of the structures. Now, months later, it goes further and with the second point indicated it would remove 4200 m2 of gross floor area out of approximately 18,000, that is, the entire floor above the swimming pool which was dedicated to the gym and padel. Furthermore, from what we read in the letter, regardless of the position of the Municipality, the opinion of the Superintendence will be binding on this point. In short, a large part of the project which by now had a defined process is called into question.
Paolo Orrigoni’s post brings out a certain discouragement and the concern of a very risky epilogue. “In the end they always manage to change your mind. We’ll take the weekend to think about it, then we’ll see if the former Aermacchi in Varese will remain a pile of rubble or not.”
THE POSITION OF THE MAYOR DAVIDE GALIMBERTI
The mayor downplays the seriousness of the issue by reiterating the fact that “the municipality cares a lot about the redevelopment of the area as it has always demonstrated in the adoption and approval of the plan and the construction of the planned sports facilities. We are ready as we have always done to find the right mediations in the interests of the city between the operator and the Superintendency to carry out the redevelopment which, in addition to the recovery of the listed buildings, has numerous aspects that must be considered and protected, in particular the environmental and social ones which have significant consequences for the entire surrounding area.”
AND WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
The many people who live in the area ask themselves this question. They have been asking for cleanup interventions for years. Now these thanks to the action of the owner company there have been, but the project seriously risks stopping permanently. Also because the letter from the Superintendence, beyond what the Mayor stated, seems like a real sword of Damocles on the entire regeneration intervention. On Monday there will be a meeting between the Municipality and TIGROS S.pA. and from there it will be possible to understand what type of developments there could be.
