The high-rise will obstruct the view from Poshchovaya Square to Andriyivska Church
Another “architectural” scandal is brewing in Kyiv. The public has suddenly learned that the area of the first lower station of the Kyiv funicular and the adjacent slope is planned for the construction of an office center and residential buildings.
The plots designated for development are located within the central historical zone of Kyiv, in the territory of the historical and architectural reserve “Ancient Kyiv,” as well as the historical and landscape monument “Historical Landscape of Kyiv Hills and the Dnipro River Valley,” where any new construction is prohibited.
1 “Kashтан NEWS” has been investigating the situation.
A fortunate coincidence
Kyiv activists dedicated to heritage conservation accidentally discovered the intentions of the city authorities to build on the slopes near the funicular: while monitoring the official site of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), they stumbled upon information that a meeting of the Department for Cultural Heritage Protection was scheduled to discuss this land plot at Borichiv Uzviz, 4-a.
“We began searching and clarifying what is on this land plot. It turned out that there are two plots, one of which already has real estate objects, while the other is conditionally free: it has some old building that has been rebuilt several times,” said Anatoliy Pohorilyi, an activist from the NGO “Heritage.”
A new historical monument
According to the activist, the search for information about the building in the archives yielded quite interesting results. It was discovered that the first mention of it dates back to 1882.
2 Later, heritage protectors learned that this building had one floor when it was constructed (approximately between 1830 and 1840). However, a second floor was added in 1860. The most significant changes occurred after World War II. Around the 1960s, it was clad in ceramic brick, and concrete stairs were added on one side.
Due to this, noted Anatoliy Pohorilyi, the object looks rather unremarkable, making it difficult to determine the period in which it was built.
However, the interior of the building features a wooden structure. According to the interlocutor, the type and form of this wood can indicate that this is quite an old building, nearly 200 years old. This discovery prompted activists to raise an informational alarm about the future of the building, as it is interesting for research and its historical value could be substantial.
As Anatoliy Pohorilyi suggests, if the project to grant the building the status of historical heritage is supported at the next plenary session of the Kyiv City Council, the structure could receive a protection order as a monument.
From hand to hand
Having clarified the origin of the building, activists found that in the early 2000s, this plot was owned by structures affiliated with the Security Service of Ukraine, which planned residential construction here under an investment agreement, intending to provide official apartments for their employees. A portion of the area was planned for commercial use.
3 However, this idea was later abandoned. Likely, this was influenced by the numerous protection zones surrounding the future building and the various restrictions associated with them. The plot changed hands several times before ending up with LLC “Skif-2004,” which now plans to erect a massive eight-story mixed-use office and residential building here.
A threat to the existence of the funicular
However, the implementation of yet another “ambitious” new construction project poses a threat not only to historical buildings. The site chosen for construction is also historical: it housed the first station of the funicular until 1928. Today, the area planned for new construction is utilized during repair work on the funicular. In particular, the dismantling of cars is carried out from here. This raises the logical question: how will repair work be conducted if the area is developed?
4 “If this area is developed, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve the cars from any other point,” notes a representative of the civic organization. “Logically, the administration of the funicular should be the first to sound the alarm, not the heritage protectors.”
A quiet place – a cruel fate
Borichiv Tik Street is quite inconspicuous and quiet. Given this, it has preserved many historical buildings. However, today it is not as touristy as other streets of modern Podil.
Borichiv Tik, Anatoliy Pohorilyi points out, has been significantly damaged by private estates built in the last 20 years. As a result, at the beginning of this street, from the side of Andriyivskyi Uzviz, only two old buildings remain, each around 150 years old, which have been set on fire multiple times in attempts to destroy them. Potentially, these buildings could also receive historical monument status. Further down, a one-story building over 200 years old has survived and has a protection document.
“Thus, the street played an important role in the history of Kyiv in the 19th century, but today little remains of it. The inconspicuous geographical location makes the street vulnerable to developers. For the public, a destroyed object is only revealed after everything has happened and new construction has begun. Therefore, it is difficult to monitor the processes that quietly occur there,” summarized the heritage protector.
5 Shifting slopes
It is worth noting that the existence of not only the historical monument and the funicular may be threatened by the new construction if the Kyiv authorities indeed give it the “green light.” As experts emphasize, the development of the riverbank slopes in Kyiv could trigger landslides due to the rising groundwater levels. This is a constant concern expressed by geologists and diggers who study the capital’s underground. Old Kyiv is riddled with drainage tunnels, which are actively deteriorating due to a lack of proper oversight and the influence of groundwater and construction on the slopes.
Active, chaotic, and uncontrolled development is the primary factor provoking soil movement on the slopes of the Dnipro cliffs. It is no wonder that our ancestors refrained from building in this area. Therefore, if the city authorities do not heed the advice of specialists, remnants of old Kyiv could simply disappear in 10-20 years. Heritage protectors assert that only one or two percent of old buildings in the capital hold any architectural or historical value.
Yevhen DEM’YANOV