Tbilisi City Hall has expanded its program for replacing dilapidated buildings to include Old Tbilisi. According to Deputy Mayor Giorgi Tkemaladze, the municipality is currently working on several dozen projects in historic districts, where building conditions require special approaches.
The program has two directions: in non-historic areas, dangerous buildings will be replaced with newly constructed residential blocks; in historic areas, due to strict urban and volume restrictions, the city will instead use a buyout model. This means the municipality will purchase buildings rather than rebuild them directly.
Tkemaladze explained that buyouts in Old Tbilisi will be conducted at market value, with owner agreements and property assessments carried out by the National Bureau of Expertise “Samkharauli.” After purchasing the properties, the city will offer these sites to investors under the same existing urban parameters.
The deputy mayor emphasized that the goal is not profit but safer living conditions and preservation of historic urban order. He added that several cases are already in progress and that, within a few months, the municipality will be able to publicly discuss specific properties involved in the program.
