The Kyiv City Council leased a 3,1-hectare plot of land at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Boulevard (Svyatoshinsky District) to Nauka-Komfort LLC. This company, which appears to be affiliated with the controversial businessman and Kyiv "overseer" Denys Komarnitsky (pictured), intends to build a residential complex on the land. Adding to the piquancy is the fact that the land is essentially a sports complex, and the new tenant allegedly wants to profit from the sale of the property solely for its reconstruction. Most members of parliament believed these promises (or pretended to believe them). However, some deputies are bluntly admitting that they are being "taken for fools" in this case.
As KV has learned, on April 22, 2021, the Kyiv City Council leased a 3,1-hectare land plot at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Boulevard to Nauka-Komfort LLC for five years for the construction of a residential complex (draft decision No. 08/231-298/PR dated February 5, 2021).
The issue, initiated by the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Land Resources, was supported by 68 City Council deputies. Only 15 members voted against the land allocation.
According to the adopted decision, the tenant will be able to use this land "for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a residential complex with social and public facilities" (cadastral number of the plot is 8000000000:75:047:0050). Thus, the Kyiv City Council changed the designated use of this land: previously, it could only be used "for the operation and maintenance of buildings and structures of the sports complex." The Kyiv City Council also excluded this plot from the list of sports parks defined by the Kyiv Green Zone Development Program until 2010 and the concept for the formation of green spaces (approved by Kyiv City Council Resolution No. 806/3381 of July 19, 2005).
The official basis for this land allocation was the fact that Nauka-Komfort LLC owns three properties located on this land under a purchase and sale agreement dated April 11, 2014 (the previous owner of the property is not specified in the draft resolution – KV). These are two sports facilities, "football field, stands," with an area of 77,9 square meters and 84,5 square meters, respectively, as well as a sports facility, "health trail, athletics sectors," with an area of 104,1 square meters.
The value of this land, according to the standard monetary valuation, is approximately 58,1 million hryvnias (according to the draft resolution, this is preliminary data – KV). Therefore, it is safe to say that the market value of this plot is at least several times higher, if not significantly higher.
It should be noted that, prior to the signing of the lease agreement with Nauka-Komfort LLC, the tenant of this and two other plots at the specified address was listed as Nauka-Sport PJSC (previously a closed joint-stock company until 2013). Kyiv City Council leased this entire land to Nauka-Sport CJSC for 25 years on February 12, 2004, by Resolution No. 43/1253. At that time, it was a single plot of 6,08 hectares, which Nauka-Sport CJSC could use for the operation and maintenance of the sports complex's buildings and facilities. However, this plot was subsequently divided into three plots of 3,1 hectares, 2,9 hectares, and 0,02 hectares. Incidentally, the Nauka-Sport sports complex of the same name, which includes tennis courts, swimming pools, and other facilities, is located at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Blvd.
In accordance with a decision adopted on April 22, 2021, the Kyiv City Council amended the lease agreement signed with Nauka-Sport PJSC on April 11, 2005, depriving the company of the right to both the largest and smallest plots. The Kyiv City Council did not transfer the 0,02-hectare plot to anyone; it was designated as a recreational reserve land.
Even with the naked eye, it is clear that a significant portion of the land transferred to Nauka-Komfort LLC is a stadium (excerpt from Google Maps)
During the Kyiv City Council meeting, only two deputies openly opposed the upcoming stadium development: Ihor Kyrylenko, a member of the Opposition Platform – For Life (OPFL) faction, and Vahan Tovmasyan, a representative of the Unity faction. Tovmasyan even stated his willingness to renovate the sports complex at his own expense to avoid the construction of yet another residential complex in the Svyatoshinsky district. However, their arguments had no effect on their colleagues.
This passivity on the part of the deputies is understandable: it's likely primarily due to the usual "deal" between the city authorities and the developer. Furthermore, the factor of deputies' fatigue cannot be denied. After all, as is often the case with controversial and important issues for the city leadership, this draft resolution was considered towards the end of the Kyiv City Council meeting – after 19:00 PM, when it is already difficult for the members of parliament to adequately and soberly assess the situation.
At the same time, the city council’s position on this issue caused considerable resonance in society.
For example, MP Geo Leros (non-affiliated, elected from the Servant of the People party) called the deputies who supported this draft resolution "s***" (contraceptives – KV) on his Facebook page. He claimed they "voted to build another residential complex in Kyiv, instead of the Nauka football stadium, for Komarnitsky, the 'overseer' from Bankova.
His colleague, Oleksandr Dubinsky (non-affiliated, elected from the Servant of the People party), was no less eloquent. "The Servant of Swindlers and Fraudsters faction in the Kyiv City Council has slammed head-on into a pole. Servant of the People (SN) deputies, led by the wife of Foreign Minister Kuleba (MP Yevhenia Kuleba – KV), voted for Tyshchenko's friend (deputy head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada – KV), whose last name is Komarnitsky, to build a high-rise building in place of the existing stadium on Vernadsky Street (referring to the boulevard of the same name – KV)," the MP declared.
Another Servant of the People MP, Andriy Kholodov, in turn, demanded that the Kyiv City Organization of that party retract the votes cast by deputies in favor of leasing the land plot. He claimed that without the "positive" votes of eight Servant of the People MPs, the decision would not have been made. Kholodov also demanded that Mayor Vitali Klitschko not sign the decision.
As a reminder, the Kyiv City Council adopted this draft resolution only on its second attempt. It was first submitted to the session hall almost two months ago (March 4, 2021), and then it fell short by eight votes.
During the meeting, Andrey Grin, a representative of Nauka-Komfort LLC, stated that the company allegedly plans to reconstruct the sports complex at 32 Akademika Vernadskogo Boulevard. The renovation will allegedly include the tennis courts and stadium, and the addition of a swimming pool. However, Grin noted that housing construction is planned to raise funds for this work.
In March 2021, MPs were unconvinced by these arguments: they openly expressed doubts about fulfilling the "sports and infrastructure" obligations. For example, Mykhailo Nakonechny (Opposition Platform - For Life faction) rhetorically asked a representative of Nauka-Komfort LLC whether he was taking the MPs for fools. Nakonechny's logic was simple: if the company truly wanted to develop sports infrastructure, it would have requested land allocation for the construction of a stadium or sports facilities. Meanwhile, MP Yuriy Fedorenko (Servant of the People faction) allowed for the possibility of a tenant constructing a stadium. However, in his opinion, at most, it would be a small facility designed for residents of new apartment buildings to practice sports.
According to the Youcontrol analytics system, Nauka-Sport PJSC (the tenant of part of the land at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Boulevard) was registered in Kyiv in January 1996. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, the owners of major stakes in this company were listed as Anatoly Nesterov, Irina and Anatoly Krzhevin (the director of this PJSC), and Igor and Vitold Fokin.
According to the Ukrainian Tennis Federation website, Anatoliy Krzhevin is a member of the federation's Presidium. Vitold Fokin, meanwhile, was the Prime Minister of Ukraine under the first president, Leonid Kravchuk, and a member of parliament of the first convocation of the Verkhovna Rada.
The Moscow-based Nauka-Komfort LLC (the new tenant and potential developer of the residential property at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Boulevard) was established in April 2014—effectively a week before the acquisition of the properties at 32 Akademika Vernadskoho Boulevard. Valeriy Marinenko is listed as the company's director, the ultimate beneficiaries are Kyiv residents Vladislav Kovtun and Alexander Klimenko, and the founder is Image Capital LLC (this company has the same ultimate beneficiaries).
It should be noted that from May 2016 to March 2021, Georgiy Tsagareishvili was listed as one of the founders of Nauka-Komfort LLC. He was a member of the Kyiv Regional Council of the 7th convocation from the Solidarity party and is also the brother of Lev Partskhaladze, a former Kyiv City Council member, former deputy head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, and former deputy minister of regional development, construction, housing and communal services. As KV reported, from 2009 to 2011, Tsagareishvili was the head of Market Researchers Group LLC (known as XXI Century LLC until September 2020), a company that was one of the founders of Mriya-Invest LLC until April 2019. The latter LLC, which appears to be linked to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko's inner circle, is known for its plans to build a massive shopping mall on the shores of Lake Vyrlitsa in the capital's Osokorky district.
Moreover, a number of public figures, including the aforementioned Geo Leros, have linked Nauka-Komfort LLC to the controversial businessman and sixth Kyiv City Council member from the Leonid Chernovetskyi Bloc, Denys Komarnitsky. Komarnitsky, in turn, has been repeatedly named as one of the "overseers" in the capital for the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. Specifically, Komarnitsky has been credited with an interest in construction, the use of budget funds for various infrastructure projects (including the Podilsko-Voskresenskyi Bridge), and sand mining in Kyiv.
Since April 2, 2021, Deputy Director Valentyna Pelikh has been acting Director of the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Land Resources. From July 27, 2018, to April 1, 2021, this department was headed by Petro Olenych, the current Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration. Oleksandr Svystunov has served as Director of the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture since November 1, 2016. He is also known as the Chief Architect of Kyiv. Mykhailo Terentyev, a member of the UDAR faction, has headed the Kyiv City Council's Commission on Architecture, Urban Development, and Land Relations since December 8, 2020.
Photo: collage by KV
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