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The Saga of Casco Viejo's Hotel Casa Lola and Salvaje Restaurant


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Hotel and restaurant  said “risk to life”

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Casa Lola operating without perm,its

Posted 15/03/2019
 
The rehabilitated of the Casa Lola hotel in Casco Viejo is a “risk to life” according to the Panama Fire Department.

Juan Pablo Iglesias director of legal advice to the Department told La Prensa that since they do not have an occupancy permit, the firefighters have not inspected the infrastructure or the gas lines or the sprinklers or fire alarms.

On June 26, 2018, the firefighters imposed a $10,000 fine on Casa Lola and ordered the suspension of work, because "it does not comply with the minimum security measures".

La Prensa reports that the sanction resolution highlights that the place is promoted as " a luxury boutique hotel and restaurant set in a historic complex".

 However, it lacks the respective permits  but despite this, “is in operational mode  warns the report, "

On May 25, 2018, a report from the Fire Safety, Prevention, and Research Office warned that two restaurants and a bar operate on the spot, the latter on the roof, despite the fact that they do not have the permits required by law.

The report adds that the stairs of the property do not have handrails or anti-slip tape; that there are no fire extinguishers or signaling or fire detection systems; and that the sprinklers are painted, among other breaches to the security system.

"We only make the fine and people often do not pay. We have a debt that exceeds $1 million because we have no coercive power, " said Iglesias.

Between 2015 and 2018, Casa Lola has been sanctioned for amounts exceeding $160,000 for work not approved says the Fire  Department. "

The Director of Works and Constructions of the Panama Mayor's Office, Antonio Docabo, confirmed that since March 19, 2018, the Casa Lola hotel "is in contempt for breach of the order of immediate suspension" of the construction and rehabilitation works.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/hotel-and-restaurant-said-risk-to-life

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“Grave  danger” Casco  Viejo hotel fined $100,000

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Casa Lola hotel

Posted 19/07/2019

A hotel, near the presidency in   Panama's historic Casco Viejo said to pose a "grave danger" to people and the historic monument has been slapped with a $100,000 fine.

 The Casa Lola hotel was fined, after the  National Directorate of Historical Heritage determined alleged legal breaches.

In a June resolution, the director in charge, Linette Montenegro, enumerated the breaches which the representatives of Casa Lola would have incurred, like building without the corresponding permits a terrace that is used as a restaurant.

"The roof of the staircase is being used as a deck to place tables and awnings, which is not approved ", says the Historical Heritage. resolution.

Among the motivations for the sanction, is a report from the Fire Department of March 18, which details that Casa Lola "violates human security and neighboring properties", not having an occupancy permit.

It says that the property represents a "danger for the people who visit it", because "it does not have electric power and at present, it keeps operating with an electric generator, which can represent damage to public health" .

In March, La Prensa revealed that Casa Lola without having building or occupation permits, operates with 29 rooms and 2 restaurants. The hotel is a short distance from the Presidential Palace.

Montenegro said that Casa Lola is "a repeat offender in not complying with the regulations " that regulates the historical monumental complex when executing works without permission.

In a technical inspection of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Historical Heritage, works were observed in the place not "contemplated in plans".

“The Directorate of Works and Constructions of the Municipality of Panama and the Fire Department also reported "other irregularities" says the resolution.

It insists that the property does not have a building or occupation permit that has been revised or registered before the Municipality.

Patrimonio Histórico sent a copy of the resolution of the fine to the Tourism Authority, the Municipality of Panama and the firefighters.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/business/grave-danger-casco-viejo-hotel-fined-100000

 

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Homicide investigation follows fall from restaurant

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Posted 25/05/2021

The Homicide Section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office is investigating the death of a who fell from the third floor, of the Salvaje  Restaurant in Casco Viejo on  Sunday night when the glass railing of the restaurant fell off.

A 2019 La Prensa investigation revealed that the Salvaje restaurant, located in the building called Casa Lola hotel, a few meters from the Presidency, lacked construction and occupancy permits.

At the time, the director of Works and Construction of the s Mayor's Office, Antonio Docabo, confirmed that Casa Lola "is in contempt for failure to comply with the order of suspension" of work.

In July 2019, Casa Lola was fined $100,000 by the National Directorate of Historical Heritage, after determining alleged legal breaches that could represent "a serious danger" for Casco Viejo.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/homicide-investigation-follows-fall-from-restaurant

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“Deathtrap” restaurant ignored Fire Department warning

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Posted 27/05/2021

The failure of authorities to enforce orders which had led to the imposition of fines totaling $140,000 and the willful ignoring of warnings from the Fire  Department led to the death of Edie Del Cid in the Salvaje restaurant in Casa Lola in Casco Viejo on Sunday, May 23.

Aníbal Del Cid described the staircase of the restaurant from which his brother fell as a “deathtrap”.

Casa Lola was fined $100,000 for representing "a serious danger" to people, but those responsible have not paid the fine imposed by the then National Directorate of Historical Heritage, today Cultural Heritage.

The director of Cultural Heritage, Katti Osorio, revealed that the owners of Casa Lola have not paid off the debt, which is why an administrative process for the execution of the fine was opened

Osorio said that since March 2019 the municipal authorities have been asked to cancel the operation notices of the businesses that operate in that property, but she has not received a response.

La Prensa reported that an operation notice was issued to the Salvaje restaurant in June 2018,  when the firefighters warned of the risks and irregularities in the construction.

As it does not have an occupancy permit, the Casa Lola property, where it operates a 29-room hotel and two restaurants, one of them, Salvaje, is lit by a power plant that exploded in August 2019.

The director of the Fire Department, Colonel Abdiel Solís, confirmed that the businesses that operate in Casa Lola do not have an occupancy permit. "Casa Lola and the Salvaje restaurant were fined $10,00 each in 2018, but the owners of the restaurant were never notified, now a person loses his life due to the negligence of those who handle that but the [Metropolitan] prosecutor's office will investigate".

Solís said that a month ago he asked the authorities to authorize by the Official Gazette that firefighters can close businesses with irregularities.

A report from firefighters on May 25, 2018, warned that the stairs of the building do not have handrails or anti-slip tape; that there are no fire extinguishers or signs or fire detection systems; and that the sprinklers are painted, among other breaches of the security system.

Since 2018 no inspections have been carried out on the work, confirmed the National Directorate of Security, Prevention and Investigation of Fires of the firefighters.

The director of Works and Constructions of the capital's Mayor's Office, Antonio Docabo, said that since 2014, the Salvaje restaurant has kept four processes open. In one of them, he said, he was ordered to demolish what was built and suspend the renovations.

He warned that because the owners of the restaurant "have not legalized the work, the municipal entity will take corrective measures in order to enforce urban regulations."

The connections
In November 2015, Osorio said, Casa Lola was fined $150,000 for building without a permit. The payment was made by N&C Capital Corp.

In N&C Capital Corp., Alessandro Cavallera appears as vice president, who is an underwriter, secretary, and director at Casa Lola, as well as manager of the Salvaje restaurant.

Until May 2020, Cavallera was secretary at Intermed Consulting Panama, SA, a company linked to Intercontinental de Medicamentos, SA in Mexico, which was awarded the disputed contract for $168 million in the Social Security Fund (CSS).

Seven days before the contract was awarded, in March 2020, Cavallera -on behalf of N&C Capital Corp.- delivered a donation of supplies to Enrique Lau, director of the CSS.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/deathtrap-restaurant-ignored-fire-department-warnings

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