Almaty Residents Fight to Protect Planned Park from Deputy Nabiyev’s Developer

In Almaty’s Bostandyq district, right next to the massive Nurly Tau complex, lies an undeveloped plot of just under 6,000 square meters. The land, designated for the construction of multi-apartment residential complexes, is currently leased long-term by Atrix-Stroy Invest LLP, a company owned by maslikhat deputy Amirzhan Nabiyev.

At the same time, according to official documents, the area is marked as a recreational zone (a park). Why this contradiction exists is unclear, but local residents are doing everything they can to stop the developer.

Residents of the block located between Nazarbayev, Panfilov, Gandhi, and Al-Farabi streets recently held a meeting where they voiced strong opposition to the construction of a residential complex or a shopping center in their district’s recreational zone.

They also complained that government agencies are completely ignoring their numerous appeals.

According to residents, they discovered a major discrepancy between the detailed planning plan (DPP) published on the Almaty akimat website and the DPP published on the website of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.

On the akimat website, a residential complex is shown in the recreational zone, while citywide centers are placed in the courtyards of residential buildings.

We contacted the Department of Architecture with a request to provide us with the DPP for our block — the one that will be presented at the public hearings scheduled for December 24–26 of this year. But we were refused, with the explanation that it contains confidential information of private individuals. Yet in three weeks that plan is supposed to become public anyway. Aside from the residential complex in the recreational zone, the construction of unspecified citywide centers is shown in the courtyards, which would double the population density in our block. Engineering networks cannot handle that load. There are no access roads, no parking spaces. Social infrastructure issues remain unresolved, said Nurlan Akhmedgaliyev, a member of the initiative group.

Currently, the land is split into two cadastral plots, both leased long-term to Atrix-Stroy Invest LLP, owned by city maslikhat deputy Amirzhan Nabiyev.

The land’s designated purpose is multi-story development.

According to the Almaty City Planning and Urbanistics Department, the detailed planning plan for this area designates it as a recreational zone (a small park).

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Residents fear that the developer, using its connections in the maslikhat and akimat, will push through changes to the DPP and obtain permission to build on the green zone. The appearance of two different DPP versions right before public hearings on the new Almaty master plan suggests an attempt to push this through.

Salavat Dilmukhametov says that even after the tightening of regulations — the ban on building in green zones, limits on infill development, and mandatory public hearings — developers still find ways around the rules. They maneuver between restrictions, exploit loopholes, and continue putting up buildings that benefit them.

The developer’s plans were ambitious. Residents presented sketches of the block development that Atrix-Stroy Invest allegedly showed them in 2021.

The developer may have revised the project since then, but has not abandoned its intentions.

Residents, meanwhile, prepared their own sketch for a future park with a pedestrian passage connecting Nazarbayev and Panfilov streets.

The possible development of the green zone is not the residents’ only complaint against Atrix-Stroy Invest.

In 2023, the company built the 19-story Jer Ana residential complex in this block. It blocked sunlight for surrounding buildings, visually overwhelmed the block, and caused numerous inconveniences.

Because of the new building, a short, direct passage to the other side — toward Panfilov Street — was also blocked.

Now residents must make a long detour just to exit the block.

We met with representatives of the developer many times and asked them at least to build a passage from our block to Panfilov Street, toward the Nurly Tau business center. They promised to build it back in 2021. But four years have passed, and there is still no passage, said Salavat Dilmukhametov.

Residents tried to stop or adjust the construction during earlier stages, but were unsuccessful.

This is why they organized the meeting and invited representatives from the Department of Public Space Development, the Architecture Department, and the Bostandyk Akimat to clearly state their position and present their proposal for the site’s future.

Residents are demanding that a park be built here, which would also serve as an assembly point in case of an earthquake.

No one from the Department of Architecture showed up. But Department of Public Space Development representative Batyrkhan Suleimenov agreed that a park would be appropriate here.

However, he noted that seizing a plot leased by a private company would be extremely difficult. The lease can be renewed indefinitely.

Still, he promised to raise the issue at the next meeting of department heads in the Almaty akimat, clarify plans concerning possible development of the site, and report back to residents within the next week.

Residents of the block are appealing to the public and demanding that Almaty’s government agencies:

• Not allow any DPP changes that lead to densification
• Immediately remove the construction fence and waste collection site from the recreational zone
• Impose a 20-year construction ban on recreational-zone plots
• Conduct an internal review of Atrix-Stroy Invest’s actions
• Provide an official explanation for discrepancies between DPP versions on different government platforms
• Ensure transparency in preparing new DPP adjustments and the Almaty general plan
• Involve residents in working groups and discussions regarding DPP adjustments in their block

 Original Author: Danil Utyupin