Against one of Tbilisi’s most dramatic backdrops, developers this week unveiled what they hope will become Georgia’s tallest building and a new symbol of the capital’s push into the global luxury real estate market.
About 1,000 guests, including senior Georgian officials, business executives, investors, celebrities and influencers from Europe, Asia and the United States, gathered Tuesday evening at Tbilisi’s iconic Funicular complex overlooking the illuminated capital for the international launch of Trump Tower Tbilisi.
The planned tower will be the first Trump-branded property in the Caucasus and the centerpiece of Downtown Tbilisi, a six-tower development covering roughly 600,000 square meters beside the city’s Central Park. The developers value the wider project at about $2 billion. The official project website currently lists the tower at 62 floors and 280 meters, with 850 residences.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze attended the unveiling alongside Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili and representatives of the companies behind the project.
One prominent guest, however, appeared only on screen.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of The Trump Organization and the U.S. president’s son, canceled his planned trip at the last minute and addressed the event by video. The Trump Organization was represented in person by Executive Vice President Lawrence Glick.
Fireworks, CeeLo Green and a million-dollar launch
The evening began with a reception accompanied by an orchestra led by Georgian musician David Mazanashvili, followed by a light show, a tribute to Georgian culture, a multimedia presentation and the formal unveiling of the project.
Grammy-winning American singer CeeLo Green and DJ and producer Francis Mercier later performed for the guests.
The planned tower
(Rendering: Archi Group and INVIA)
Businesspeople, investors and influencers arrived from markets including Poland, Ukraine, Dubai, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Israeli representatives were also among the guests, some of whom momentarily tensed when a fireworks display began.
The event itself was estimated by the organizers at around $1 million, but it was designed to showcase a real estate undertaking far larger than the single tower unveiled that evening.
The Israeli connection
Among the executives attending were Georgian entrepreneur Ilia Tsulaia, co-founder and chairman of developer Archi, and his Israeli business partner Meni Benish, another of Archi’s founders. Archi’s own corporate materials list Benish among the company’s founders.
Eric Trump joins the launch event via Zoom
Levan Pkhakadze, founder and CEO of INVIA, was also present.
Archi and INVIA are developing the wider Downtown Tbilisi project, while the official tower website states that the Trump name is being used under license. It specifies that Trump Tower Tbilisi is not owned, developed or sold by Donald Trump, The Trump Organization or their affiliates.
The Sapir Organization, headed by Alex Sapir, is also involved in the development and has a longstanding business relationship with the Trump family. The original project announcement described Sapir as part of the development team and noted that the Tbilisi project marks its first international commercial development.
The tower was designed by international architecture firm Gensler.
“This was the first real opportunity for people to see the scale and vision behind Trump Tower Tbilisi,” Eric Trump said in the video address shown at the event.
“It is an exciting milestone for the project and for Downtown Tbilisi, which is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic business and lifestyle destinations in the region. We are very excited to bring the Trump brand to the city and about Tbilisi’s future as an international investment and real estate destination.”
Six towers and a $2 billion bet
Trump Tower will be the first of six towers planned for Downtown Tbilisi, a roughly seven-hectare development beside the capital’s Central Park.
Developers say the 280-meter tower will become the tallest building in Georgia and combine luxury residences, hospitality services, high-end retail, restaurants and leisure spaces.
(Rendering: Archi Group and INVIA)
The scale reflects an ambitious bet that Tbilisi can attract growing numbers of international investors and second-home buyers.
Studio apartments are expected to start at about $290,000, according to information presented to Ynet, with prices ranging from roughly $7,000 to $10,760 per square meter.
Benish told Ynet last week that penthouses on the upper floors could eventually reach around $15,000 per square meter.
Those prices are aimed well beyond Georgia’s domestic market. Developers are counting heavily on wealthy foreign buyers, though local businesspeople also expressed interest following the presentation.
‘Tbilisi reminds me of Dubai’
For the developers, the comparison they want investors to make is clear: early-stage Dubai.
“One in every four of our buyers today is international, and that share continues to grow,” Tsulaia said at the event.
“Tbilisi reminds me of Dubai during the period when it became a truly international destination. The arrival of Trump Tower is a signal of international confidence in Georgia and an important new chapter in the country’s development.”
Pkhakadze made a similar pitch.
“Tbilisi is a city of the future, and the energy surrounding the launch demonstrated just how much international interest there is in what is happening here,” he said.
“Trump Tower Tbilisi combines global design, the heritage of the Trump brand and deep expertise in the local market. It is an unusual combination that reflects our confidence in Georgia’s continued growth.”
Sapir described the tower as a project with the potential to transform Tbilisi’s skyline.
“We were very pleased to unveil Trump Tower Tbilisi before such a distinguished international audience,” he said. “It is a transformative project, one whose scale, architecture and ambitions can redefine the Tbilisi skyline and set a new benchmark for luxury residential development in the region.”
Will buyers come?
The launch comes as Georgia seeks to attract greater foreign investment and international business activity.
Developers cited average real economic growth of about 9% annually over the past four years in making their case for the project. Financing for the wider development is being provided by TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, whose parent groups are listed in London, according to the developers.
The Georgian government also presented the project as evidence of the country’s ability to attract large-scale investment and international brands.
But after the lights, fireworks and performances ended, the key question remained less glamorous.
The tower’s success will ultimately depend on whether enough Georgian and, crucially, foreign buyers are willing to spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on apartments in an ambitious Trump-branded skyscraper in Tbilisi.
The developers are betting that they will, and that Georgia’s capital is only at the beginning of its transformation into a regional luxury real estate destination.
- Disclosure: The writer was a guest of Archi in Tbilisi