The other, smaller buildings at the corner of Kralja Milana and the square, where the famous cafés "Tri seljaka" and "Rudničanin" used to be, were destroyed before and during World War II.

Surrounding was an entangled web of small streets which, though cobblestoned in the early 20th century, were remains of the old, dirt paths dating from the Ottoman period.

City government, part of the Quisling administration in Serbia, was entrusted with the task of conducting construction plans for Slavija devised in Germany.

In the 21st century, the massive size of the sewer and large pipes are major obstacles for the construction of the projected underground passages around Slavija.

Architects always pointed out that the traffic function is the most important and that it has to be addresses first, and then to plan the surroundings and also that Slavija was to be envisioned as a whole and not to be fixed partially, because sum of the parts does not make a whole.

[18] Criticism from the architects was directed to the fact that transportation solutions will not speed up the traffic flow, the needlessness of the fountain on such a place, and that, in general, new city government removed from the project the best parts and kept the worst.

As a response to the constant criticism about the fountain, including that it will be completely surrounded by some of the busiest traffic in the city, thus inaccessible to the pedestrians, and a price which is, for the Serbian economic conditions deemed way to high for such a construction (214 million dinars or some 1.75 million euros), Belgrade's city manager Goran Vesić stated that those who do not like the musical fountain don't have to listen to it.

The secretariat warned that the planned dispersion of the water will make the roads wet and slippery in summer and create ice in winter, as it is supposed to work throughout the year, thanks to the special heaters.

They concluded that the fountain projected that way is not suitable for the highly frequent roundabout but rather for the parks and open green areas and that it can endanger the traffic.

[28] Milan Vujanić, professor at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, asserted that the fountain is still a safety risk.

[29] Architect Borislav Stojkov, who devised the 1979 urbanistic plan for Slavija, called it a "kitsch-parade", waste of money and "Potemkin village in the center of Belgrade".

Vučić added that those who criticize the fountain actually can't forgive him "because he participated in three strongest, most compelling victories in the modern Serbian history", referring to the last three electoral rounds.

[36] The fountain was damaged in December 2017 when a van, which participated in the three-car collision, hit its outer granite plates, forcing it out of service for a week.

Fountain worked only for two and a half months, so questions are asked why the square wasn't finished first, cause now there are additional costs (conservation, etc.)

[54] On 13 October 2017, while the excavator was digging a channel on Slavija, a lump of hard material fell from its bucket onto the main water pipe in this part of the city causing it to burst.

[55][56] The three most problematic spots were open for traffic simultaneously on 16 November 2017 (Slavija, adjoining Bulevar Oslobođenja, Ruzveltova) even though none of them were fully completed.

[60] City architect Milutin Folić then announced that the plateau will host info-center, public restroom, a mini store and an observation point from which people could watch the fountain.

[67] It turned out that not everything was completed even though the workers left on the deadline date, which prompted the mayor Zoran Radojičić to state how he is "disappointed because not everything was finished",[69] while the arrangement of the plateau extended further.

[71] The bust of Tucović was returned to the square on 16 October 2018, but placed on the new pedestal built on the plateau, close to the building of the National Bank.

Central section of the block, parallel to the outer Kralja Milana and Nemanjina streets, was to include green, pedestrian passage which would directly connect the square and Manjež.

Due to the general inadequacy of the city's transportation, traffic jams are regular on the square and especially hard if helped by some additional reason (bad weather, snow, especially the 2006 reconstruction of the Autokomanda interchange, etc.).

Already crowded, the remaining lines became almost useless during the rush hours as they were constantly overcrowded, while pedestrian part of the square became a "race track" for the commuters who have to run to make a transfer as neither the timetable nor the location of the stations were synchronized.

It had a vast yard, which also included stables and quarters for merchants and bullockies, where the goods and food arriving from the interior were stored and repackaged for the city markets.

[89] After the war, Communist government imprisoned Vlada Mitić and confiscated his entire property, including the lot on Slavija, on the corner of the Kralja Milana and Beogradska streets, and money prepared for the construction of the department store.

[92] The entire lot covers 6.573 m2 (70.75 sq ft) and by 2021, one third was returned to the pre-World War II owners in the restitution process.

In March 2021 it was announced that the private owners sold their parcels to the Czech developer "Sebre", which already purchased properties of Marina Dorćol and Avala Grad.

Next to it, a pharmacist Kosta Nikolić built a one-storey house which became a well-known pharmacy, so as the several smaller buildings around it with shops, including the tinsmith Anton Šuster.

[96][97] After World War II, new authorities nationalized everything and turned former Mackenzie's residence into the "Slavija" cinema, occupying area between the Beogradska and Prote Mateje streets.

One of the nationalized parcels, owned by the medical doctor and radiologist Aleksandar Marković (1878-1961), which covers 400 m2 (4,300 sq ft), was returned to his descendants in October 2020.

A massive construction was deemed ugly and inappropriate for the location by many Belgraders and in 1994 the then governor of the bank, Dragoslav Avramović, stated that he would not move into the new building even if it were completed on time.