Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
A Multi-Story Building on a Parking Lot: Kyiv City Council May “Bless” Another Controversial Construction in Obolon
The Kyiv City State Administration (KyivCSA) proposed that the Kyiv City Council change the designated use of a plot of land of 1,22 ha on Pivnichna Street, 1; the council’s relevant commission has already approved the draft. Thus, the lessee of this land – Avva-Service LLC (a company in the orbit of developer MZHK Obolon) – will be able to build a 26-story residential building on it.
It is likely that the process of this development can no longer be stopped, since these works were effectively legalized when the controversial Detailed Plan of the Territory (DPT) for the northwestern part of the Obolon district was approved. At the same time, the city authorities apparently decided to ignore the fact that the planned construction contradicts Kyiv’s General Plan, according to which this land belongs to municipal-warehouse territories.
As KVyadi learned, on 25 May 2022 the standing commission of the Kyiv City Council on architecture, urban planning and land relations supported the draft decision “On changing the designated use of the land plot leased by Avva-Service LLC on Pivnichna Street, 1 in the Obolon district of Kyiv and amending the lease agreement of the land plot dated 24 March 2008” (No. 08/231-653/PR dated 20 May 2022).
This was reported to our publication by the deputy head of the said commission, Mykola Konopelko (Servant of the People faction). Recall that the city municipality does not conduct video broadcasts of commission meetings and Kyiv City Council plenary sessions during martial law, and likewise does not publish all accompanying documents of such meetings (agenda, minutes, etc.).
The submitters of the mentioned draft decision were KyivCSA’s deputy head for self-government powers, Petro Olenych (center in the collage), and the KyivCSA Department of Land Resources.
As stated in the document, Avva-Service LLC leases the above-mentioned plot of 1,22 ha (cadastral number – 8000000000:78:132:013) under an agreement with the Kyiv City Council that was concluded on 24 March 2008 (taking into account the extension of that agreement. – KVyadi). Currently, the plot’s designated use is “for placement and operation of buildings and structures of motor transport and road management” (“for operation and maintenance of an open parking lot”). The city municipality, however, plans to set that this land can be used “for construction, maintenance and operation of a residential-public complex” (“for construction and maintenance of a multi-apartment residential building with objects of trade-entertainment and market infrastructure”).
The draft decision also proposes to exclude part of the above plot of 0,35 ha from the red line limits. All these changes, as indicated in the document, must be entered into the lease agreement for this plot, for which Avva-Service LLC must conclude the relevant agreement with the city authorities.
The draft decision states that the mentioned plot does not belong to a green zone. The document also notes that, according to Kyiv’s General Plan, this plot functionally belongs to municipal-warehouse territories and partially to street and road territories. At the same time, according to the DPT that includes Pivnichna Street (this DPT will be discussed below. – KVyadi), this plot functionally belongs to the territory of multi-story residential development, partially to the territory of public buildings and structures, and partially to engineering infrastructure objects. How the functional designation of the land provided by urban planning documentation can differ so much is a big question: according to the law, a DPT must not contradict the General Plan, but only clarify it.
The draft decision also reports that the land plot on Pivnichna Street, 1, is developed – there is a non-residential building of 246,7 sq.m., which since 9 December 2021 has been privately owned by Avva-Service LLC. The draft decision does not indicate who the previous owner of this structure was or how it was used/is used. At the same time, the document notes that the lessee submitted a petition to change the land’s designated use to the KyivCSA Department of Land Resources on 14 February 2022.
Land and urban-planning vicissitudes
On 15 March 2007 the Kyiv City Council, by decision No. 318/979, leased to Avva-Service LLC the land plot on Pivnichna Street, 1 of 1,22 ha for 5 years for the construction, operation and maintenance of an open parking lot. The decision provided that part of this land of 0,35 ha lies within the red line limits. On 24 March 2008 a lease agreement for the plot was concluded between the mentioned LLC and the Kyiv City Council.
Subsequently, the city council renewed the term of the above agreement twice. Thus, according to Kyiv City Council decision No. 48/913 dated 23 January 2015, the agreement was renewed for 5 years. Upon expiration of its term, on 13 May 2021 the council by decision No. 1235/1276 renewed it again for 10 years. On 15 November 2021 an agreement on renewal of the lease was signed between the lessee and the city authorities – it is now valid until 15 November 2031.
According to open sources and public maps, the plot on Pivnichna Street, 1, was indeed used and appears to be used as a parking lot. However, the lessee clearly had other plans for it several years ago. The city authorities supported Avva-Service LLC’s idea, and in the fall of 2018 preparations began to legalize the lessee’s intentions.
Thus, on 11 October 2018 a draft decision “On approval of the DPT within the boundaries of Pivnichna Street, Obolonskyi Avenue, Pryrichna Street, Heroiv Stalingrada Avenue, Marshal Malynovsky Street in the Obolon district of Kyiv” (No. 08/231-3539/PR) was registered in the Kyiv City Council. The submitters of this draft were then-deputy head of KyivCSA Oleksandr Spasybko and the KyivCSA Department of Urban Planning and Architecture. The draft of this detailed plan was developed on order from the municipal enterprise “Spetszhytlofond.”
One of the items of this DPT fixed Avva-Service LLC’s intentions to change the designated use of the land it leases on Pivnichna Street, 1. The document envisaged that the company intended to build a residential-public complex there of 26 floors (the total built-up area is to be 2,3 thousand sq.m., the total area of 570 apartments in this complex – 36,7 thousand sq.m.). The DPT draft indicated that 1076 residents would live in the future residential-public complex, who could count on 228 parking spaces. The document noted that these technical and economic indicators are approximate and will be clarified at later stages of developing project documentation for the future construction. All this was the reason for the proposed change of the plot’s functional designation.
The city authorities could not approve the DPT draft for more than two years. This was connected with the now-familiar complaints from the public and some city council deputies about various “postulates” of this document.
First of all, this concerned the densifying development envisaged by the DPT project, which, according to activists and representatives of the city political establishment, could lead to increased pressure on social infrastructure and even to the destruction of some buildings. In connection with this, for several years the director of the KyivCSA Department of Urban Planning and Architecture, Oleksandr Svystunov (right in the collage), faced harsh criticism. Moreover, in January 2019 the Kyiv Main Directorate of the National Police drew attention to this DPT project – law enforcement opened a criminal proceeding on possible document forgery in preparing this DPT for approval. Among other things, according to the National Police, instead of the signature of the first deputy head of KyivCSA Mykola Povoroznyk, the draft decision bore the signature of another deputy – Petro Panteleiev.
Eventually the DPT was approved by Kyiv City Council decision No. 2242/2283 dated 31 August 2021 with minimal changes compared to the original version. These changes did not affect the idea of developing the plot on Pivnichna Street, 1, as a result of which Avva-Service LLC officially gained the possibility to plan development of this territory.
Who plans to build
According to the analytical system YouControl, Avva-Service LLC was registered in Kyiv in October 1995. The company’s director is listed as Nataliya Holovchenko, and the founders and ultimate beneficiaries are Kyiv residents Alla Borodavka, Volodymyr Kolomiiets and Lyudmyla Oskret.
Note that Avva-Service LLC is a lessee of land plots in the Obolon district where the ObolonSky residential complex was commissioned in 2019. This complex was built under the banner of the MZHK Obolon construction holding. In 2020 public activists actively criticized the “beneficiaries” of that residential complex. Among other things, activists argued that the developers “seized” the bank of Kyrylivske Lake, thereby preventing the city’s project to improve the lake and making access to the lake impossible for district residents.
According to the holding’s official website, the director of MZHK Obolon is Oleksandr Antonov. He is the brother of the former head of the Obolon District State Administration in Kyiv (2010–2014) and former deputy of the Obolon District Council in Kyiv (1998–2006) Vasyl Antonov (left in the collage). The latter led MZHK Obolon from 1992 to 2010. The connection between Avva-Service LLC and this developer is more than obvious. For example, Vasyl Antonov together with the above-mentioned Alla Borodavka are ultimate beneficiaries of MZHK Development LLC, and one of the founders of that LLC is the same Oleksandr Antonov.
Note that Member of Parliament Heorhiy Leros (non-affiliated) reported in 2020 that Vasyl Antonov has close ties with the notorious businessman Denys Komarnytskyi, whom the public calls the “overseer of Kyiv.”
Also note that the company in the Antonov brothers’ orbit – MZHK Obolon LLC – was involved in a scandal over potential development near Chkalovskyi Square. Kyiv residents and some Kyiv City Council deputies opposed construction of a residential building on that land. They pointed out that the territory is part of Kyiv’s Central Historical Area and adjoins various architectural monuments, and therefore, in their opinion, the city council should terminate lease agreements with the mentioned LLC. However, such protests had no result – the company managed to achieve renewal of lease agreements in court.
Recall that Oleksandr Svystunov has served as director of the KyivCSA Department of Urban Planning and Architecture since 1 November 2016. The KyivCSA Department of Land Resources has been headed by Valentyna Pelykh since 29 June 2021 (she served as acting head of this structure since 2 April 2021). From 27 July 2018 to 1 April 2021, this department was headed by Petro Olenych, who since 2 April 2021 has served as deputy head of KyivCSA for self-government powers and oversees land and urban-planning issues in Kyiv.
Since 8 December 2020 the Kyiv City Council commission on architecture, urban planning and land relations has been chaired by UDAR faction representative and director of the municipal enterprise “Engineering Center,” Mykhailo Terentiev. This commission is the second largest after the Budget and Socio-Economic Development Commission – it includes 24 deputies, with UDAR and European Solidarity holding the majority.
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