You're reading: Turgenivska street getting a makeover

Almost eight years after independence, Ukraine still doesn't have a modern exhibition center. The exhibitions that regularly come to the capital are mostly held in Dom Ukrainy – formerly the Kyiv branch of the Central Lenin Museum, the Palats Sporty sports hall, and the National Exhibition Center, formerly the site of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements of the Ukrainian SSR.

That's set to change at the end of the year, when Ukrainian company VneshEkonomBusiness plans to add a top-class venue to the list of exhibition sites in the capital.

The new exhibition hall and business service center will be on vul. Turgenivska 25, on the site of VneshEkonomBusiness's old office, according to Valentin Sokolovsky, president of the company.

'This will be the first specialized exhibition center in Ukraine,' Sokolovsky boasts.

Construction of the 5,000 square meter building started in September 1998. Once completed, the building will have three exhibition halls with a combined area of 2,000 square meters – room enough for 100 company stands, Sokolovsky says.

The exhibition halls will have eight-meter high ceilings, which is high enough to accommodate two-story stands, he says. The new center will be able to host up to 20 exhibitions per year. The first one is already scheduled for March 2000, says Sokolovsky.

As well as the exhibition halls, the new center will have two conference halls, one with 300 seats and another with 250. There will also be an on-site printing service, communications facilities (including access to the Internet), a legal consultation office, translation bureau, car rental office, travel agent, currency exchange point, cafe and bar.

The building will also be equipped with air conditioning, Sokolovsky said. ***

Right next to the new exhibition center on Turgenivska, another property developer is hoping to start work on a different project.

Ukrainian building company Rif, which owns an old, dilapidated residential building and its courtyard, is planning to renovate the house and turn it into a top-class apartment building.

The 860 square meter building will eventually house 10 apartments and an underground parking area for 10 cars. Features will include an independent boiler for an uninterrupted hot water supply and air conditioning.

According to Rif officials, renovation work on the building will start next year, and last for approximately 12 months.

Meanwhile, the company is attempting to gain approval for its plans from the city authorities. Rif estimates that the cost of the renovation work will be between $1.7 million and $2.58 million.
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Across the road from the exhibition center on Tugenivska 26, another building renovation project has already been completed.

Work on the seven-story, 1,750 square meter building started in November 1998 and was completed in June this year.

Switzerland's HCM Property Management GmbH, which represents the building's owner, is looking out for a buyer.

According to HCM spokesman Vadim Kushnikov, the building has been designed as office space (a company headquarters or a representative office), but the use could be changed to meet a buyer's needs.

The building has open floor plates to allow easy changes to the interior design, there is air conditioning, and also an underground parking lot for 16 cars (as well as space above ground for another 30 cars).

'[However] it's possible to change the office space into residential space,' says Kushnikov. 'And we've had some proposals [to buy the building] from several embassies.'