The real estate investment has been hailed by President Aleksandar Vučić as a “magnificent” boost to economic ties with the U.S. Serbia’s parliament adopted a special law (“lex specialis”) on 7 November, aimed at accelerating the redevelopment of the bombed-out former Yugoslav Army headquarters in central Belgrade into a $500 million luxury complex, despite fierce opposition, street protests, and accusations of unconstitutionality.
The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vučić pushed the bill through with a 130-40 vote in the 250-seat assembly, invoking an extraordinary constitutional provision to allow immediate enforcement, bypassing standard delays and enabling demolition and construction to begin soon.
U.S.-based Affinity Global Development, founded by Jared Kushner – former White House advisor and son-in-law of President Donald Trump – holds a 99-year lease (signed in May 2024) for the site at no upfront cost, with plans for a Trump-branded high-rise hotel (175 rooms), over 1,500 luxury apartments, offices, shops, and a memorial to NATO bombing victims.
The project, Kushner’s largest in the Balkans alongside a separate Albanian resort, has been hailed by Vučić as a “magnificent” boost to economic ties with the U.S. and a way to “demolish the ruins” of the past.
The site – two sprawling modernist buildings damaged in NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign during the Kosovo war – remains a potent symbol for many Serbs as a monument to victims and resistance against “aggression.”
The structures, classified as protected cultural monuments in 2005 for their historical significance – commemorating the 1943 Partisan victory at the Sutjeska River – were stripped of their protected status in November 2024 to pave the way for Kushner’s Affinity Partners hotel project, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
The government stripped its protected cultural heritage status in November 2024, but the project stalled amid a criminal probe into alleged document forgery by heritage officials.
Acting State Secretary Slavica Jelača at the Ministry of Culture, along with heritage institute directors Goran Vasić and Aleksandar Ivanović, allegedly forged documents lacking mandatory conservator reports and public notices to unlawfully strip the site’s protected cultural heritage status.
Opposition figures, including Aleksandar Jovanović, decried the law as a “crime” that would replace heritage with “casinos and Jacuzzis,” while legal experts like Savo Manojlović vowed challenges at the Constitutional Court for suspending cultural protections.
As of 9 November, no construction has started, but the law’s early effect paves the way for rapid permits.
Protests continued over the weekend, with hundreds rallying outside parliament earlier in the week chanting “Culture is not for sale.”
On X (formerly Twitter), reactions ranged from outrage over “erasing history” to criticism of Vučić as a “traitor” selling out to U.S. interests.
Affinity Partners and Kushner have not commented since the vote, maintaining silence on requests amid ongoing scrutiny.
The approval comes amid Serbia’s domestic turmoil—marking one year since a deadly Novi Sad station roof collapse sparked mass anti-government protests—and Vučić’s balancing act between Russia (no sanctions imposed) and the West.
Critics, including preservationists and Europa Nostra, argue the “lex specialis” exemplifies favoritism, suspending procurement rules for elite projects—a tactic used since 2015 for infrastructure deals.
No court rulings or further probes have emerged in the 48 hours post-vote, but opposition vows legal fights persist.
U.S.-Serbia background
The United States imposed comprehensive sanctions on Serbia’s majority Russian-owned Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) in January 2025 as part of broader measures targeting Russia’s energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with restrictions fully enforced from 9 October after multiple waivers expired.
Vučić has warned of “extremely serious” nationwide economic, social, and political fallout from the sanctions.
Whether Trump’s son-in-law real estate project in Belgrade can serve as leverage for Vučić to secure U.S. relief from the crippling NIS refinery sanctions remains a subject of speculation in diplomatic and business circles.