Investment company EFI Group on Monday presented a development concept for the Palace of Rzewuski & Lanckoroński in Rozdil, Ukraine; total investment in the Rozdil Palace project will amount to about EUR 15 million, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.
"Private capital should become a tool for Ukraine's future cultural and historical heritage. My task as the owner is to implement an effective impact investment model under which the landmark will live for centuries. I am convinced that we will be able to create a hub that will become not only an attractive tourist destination, but also an example of effective international cooperation in historical research and diplomacy, as well as in business," said Ihor Lisky, founder of EFI Group and owner of the Rozdil Palace impact project.
Lisky presented the concept of the complex for the first time. Its key elements are a cultural center, a hotel, an event space and a Ukrainian-Polish dialogue platform. The palace, historic buildings and park are viewed as a single complex. According to the concept, the palace will become a permanent Ukrainian-Polish dialogue center that will include residences for artists and researchers, exhibitions, lectures and educational programs, archival research, and public and international discussions. The concept separately addresses the interpretation of the site's multilayered history, which, alongside Ukrainian and Polish heritage, also includes Jewish heritage.
According to Lisky, impact investment should become a resource that will make it possible to preserve, develop and capitalize on heritage. The complex will include a hotel with a wellness area, a restaurant, a park and Rozdil Hall – infrastructure for international, business, cultural and educational events. Any new function should reinforce rather than displace the historical value of the palace. At the same time, the historic site must meet 21st-century standards: accessibility, fire safety, shelter and evacuation, energy efficiency, and separation of guest, staff and event participant flows.
EFI Group acquired the palace at a state privatization auction in June 2023 for UAH 15.984 million. EUR 1.5 million has already been invested in the project (historical research has been conducted, design work and emergency stabilization measures have begun, legal preparations have been completed, etc.), while the cost of the first stage of restoration and creation of the complex will exceed EUR 2 million.
As EFI Group CEO Olha Batova told Interfax-Ukraine, the first stage will be the restoration of the palace.
"We have already approved the facades. I hope we will begin work in the spring," she said.
During the event, a memorandum of cooperation in preserving, restoring and developing the palace and park complex was signed by Ukraine's Ministry of Culture, the Lviv Regional Military Administration, the Novy Rozdil City Council and Dvorets Rozdil LLC. The document is valid for five years and brings together the parties' efforts to preserve, research, restore and sustainably develop the complex as a modern cultural, tourist, educational and public space. Under the memorandum, project financing will be provided by Dvorets Rozdil LLC from its own funds and attracted financing.
Rozdil Palace is an impact project representing a new model for the revival and management of cultural heritage, combining preservation of Ukraine's and Europe's cultural code with the involvement of private capital. The palace and park complex is located in the settlement of Rozdil, Stryi district, Lviv region. The palace combines layers of different eras, from the Baroque of 1740 to French Neo-Renaissance of 1874, while the Lanckoronski collection was considered by contemporaries to be among the largest art collections in Europe.
EFI Group is a Ukrainian investment and industrial group founded in 2007 that develops businesses and investment projects in health care and medical services, food processing, paper and packaging production, agricultural supplies and energy.
The group combines investment in the development of modern production and infrastructure with a long-term approach to creating economic and social value. EFI Group's portfolio includes, in particular, BEEHIVE, Feednova, SEM Ecopack, NovaSklo, Doc.ua, Medychna Zirka and Miy Likar.
