The tower on the old hippodrome, and why its height keeps changing
A branded tower was presented in Tbilisi on 15 September as the centrepiece of a two billion dollar mixed-use development on the former hippodrome site in Saburtalo. Reported figures do not agree: 62 storeys and 282 metres at the presentation, 62 storeys and 280 metres from the prime minister in another account, and about 70 storeys and 259 metres in the earliest reporting. The tower is scheduled for 2031 and the full complex for 2033.
The scheme, as described
The tower sits within a development called Downtown Tbilisi on the former racecourse grounds, next to the area being redeveloped as a city park. The complex is given as roughly 600,000 square metres, and the reporting describes a previously approved plan for seven high-rises with the tallest at 79 storeys. Planned uses are residences, hotel, retail and restaurants. Named partners include Archi Group, the Sapir Organization and several Georgian investment groups, with the Trump Organization as brand partner and Gensler reported as designer.
Why the conflicting figures are the story
Height and storey counts that move between announcements are not a reporting error so much as a sign that the design is not fixed. The project was first announced in April, with the location initially undisclosed, and the earliest account described a different building from the one presented in September. For a buyer, that is the practical point: nothing about floor plates, unit mix or delivery can be relied on at this stage, and no price per square metre has been published in any of these accounts.
What else was published alongside it
The same coverage reports criticism and context that a prospective buyer should know exists. Critics are described as objecting to the loss of open land and to the environmental and infrastructure impact on one of the capital's remaining large green areas. The reporting also relays a Wall Street Journal account that the land was acquired in 2023 from a fund linked to a sanctioned Georgian billionaire in a deal valued at up to 85 million dollars, and sets the project against a deterioration in Georgia-US relations. No official response to those claims is recorded in the article.
What it changes for the rest of Saburtalo
Six or seven towers and 600,000 square metres on one site is a supply event for the district whenever it arrives, and 2031 to 2033 is far enough out that owners nearby have time rather than a decision to make. The near-term effect of a scheme like this is usually on land values and on the price of new launches marketed as adjacent to it, not on the resale price of an existing flat two streets away. Groundbreaking has been talked about but no date for it is published.
Written by us from the source linked above, not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures and rules change — confirm anything that matters before acting on it.
