Villa Zora in Veles cannot be converted into a nursing home, inspection finds
Ministry inspectors found physical and structural shortcomings; authorities will explore alternative sites including a former primary school.
An inspection by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy concluded that the former Villa Zora hotel in Veles cannot be converted into a nursing home, Mayor Marko Kolev announced. The evaluation followed a joint visit by ministry representatives and local officials to determine whether the 1985-built facility could house elderly and infirm residents from Veles and the surrounding municipality.
Inspectors found that the building does not meet the legal and regulatory requirements for a care home. Officials pointed to several physical shortcomings that prevent safe and lawful operation as an elderly residence.
Structural limits and technical shortcomings
“My wish, as well as the wish of the representatives of the local authorities, was for the hotel 'Villa Zora' to be repurposed into a nursing home. Based on legal and sublegal acts and regulations, there are no necessary conditions there and the building does not meet them. We have narrow corridors, insufficiently large elevators — these are part of the shortcomings. There was a visit to see whether and what can be rearranged. Such a thing, if done, would undermine the building's structural integrity and therefore it is not possible to carry out any construction interventions. There are several permits for the start of construction of private nursing homes in the surroundings of the city. We are also considering the option of the former primary school 'Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov-Dzhinot'. It is known that there will be a branch of a kindergarten there, so it seems nice to have children and elderly people in the same building. That's a trend in the world,” Kolev said.
According to the mayor, narrow corridors and elevators that are too small are among the main obstacles. Engineers warned that the type of alterations required to comply with care-home standards would compromise the building's structural stability, making major construction works impossible.
Kolev added that several construction permits for private nursing homes already exist in the vicinity and that local authorities are also reviewing the former primary school Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov-Dzhinot as an alternative site. The school reportedly will host a kindergarten branch, and officials noted that mixed-generation solutions — co-locating children and the elderly — are becoming more common internationally.
Photo: SDK.MK)
