Twenty-five days before the 2020 parliamentary elections, on October 5, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling party, returned the territory of the former hippodrome to the municipality. At the time, it was announced that the Cartu Charity Foundation, owned by Ivanishvili, would build a central park on the 36-hectare area. Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, one of the leaders of Ivanishvili’s party, thanked him. Kaladze said that the park would include: a Japanese garden; an educational center; a panoramic platform; an artificial lake (pond); an amphitheater; a botanical garden; a fountain and panoramic bridge; a food court zone and a main meadow; a French garden; dog-walking areas. Construction work started on October 19.

For a group of citizens, the planned park design—presented in the official model—was unacceptable, because the plan included paved concrete paths through the park and the creation of landscaped areas where visitors would not be able to walk. Activists highlighted several shortcomings of the project:

• The park would allocate 15 times more space to parking than to sports areas;

• A significant part of the area would be covered with hard-surface paths;

• Permanent buildings for cafés/restaurants and an educational center would be built inside the park;

• The park would include paved and concreted spaces;

• Almost half of the territory would be allocated to French-style gardens, which activists considered unacceptable, as such a garden would be “mostly scenic décor, where walking would only be possible on specially designated paths.”

The first protest was held by the opposition party “European Georgia” on October 6, 2020. The party argued that Ivanishvili had retained ownership of part of the territory and that the full area would not be dedicated to recreational use.

Later, starting from April 2021, activism increased both on social media and through street protests under the movement “Hippodrome — Unconcreted Side.” The movement’s first rally was held on April 10, 2021. Members of the movement argued that an alternative project was necessary—one that considered the specifics of the city, the district, and the hippodrome area—because under the current plan, the open space and the natural landscape characteristic of central parks would be lost. To illustrate the differences, the Facebook page “Hippodrome — Unconcreted Side” published photos comparing central parks in various world capitals with the proposed park in Tbilisi.

To emphasize the significance of the hippodrome space, one of the protests was organized in picnic format on April 25, 2021. Informational brochures were distributed. A protest-picnic was also held on May 7. The initiative group appealed to City Hall and requested documentation related to construction works.

Another protest demanding the suspension of construction was held on September 12. On September 28, the same initiative group held a public discussion directly on the hippodrome grounds. The following year, on July 6, 2022, at another protest, participants cleaned the hippodrome territory from household waste.

On July 22, 2022, the Mayor of Tbilisi announced that the park design had been changed and that final details were still under discussion — instead of Japanese and French gardens, green meadows would be created (it became clear at that moment that construction work had stopped). In response, the movement stated that there must be an open competition for the design of a public space and that unilateral decision-making was unacceptable.

On June 14, 2024, the Tbilisi City Assembly supported a project permitting the construction of skyscrapers in the hippodrome forest. For the company to begin construction, an urban development plan needed to be approved. Seven buildings were planned on the territory — the lowest 21 stories, and the highest 79 stories. A parking structure for 5,500 cars was also planned.

The hippodrome forest — over which “European Georgia” had already held a protest back on October 6, 2020 — was sold on October 27, 2023, by Ivanishvili’s Cartu Foundation for 85 million USD to Central Park Avenues LLC. The company had been founded just one month prior (its director is Vasil Pkhakadze, who is also director of “Biograph,” a construction company within Wissol Group. Wissol Group belongs to his father, Levan Pkhakadze, and uncle, Soso Pkhakadze).

The hippodrome forest was a recreational zone. Under the land-use regulation plan, all construction was prohibited there except for lighting, irrigation system installation, billboard placement, and decorative structures. Therefore, the company requested a change of functional zoning. On June 24, 2024, the recreational zone status was removed from part of the land, making construction permissible.

According to the project later made public by the company, the territory would be divided into two parts:

• in the first part — commercial, office, and residential buildings (maximum 25 stories);

• in the second part — mostly commercial, recreational, entertainment, sports, and residential functions (with building heights up to 79 stories).

Previously, Tbilisi City Hall had promised residents that a central park would be built on the hippodrome territory.

On June 19, 2024, citizens gathered at the Tbilisi City Assembly to protest the planned construction of skyscrapers in the hippodrome forest. Politicians and activists participated. Banners read: “Construction in the hippodrome forest is a crime”; “You can’t concrete the greenery”; “Hippodrome is the unconcreted side.”

The opposition filed a lawsuit against the skyscraper project. However, the court postponed the hearing. On December 31, 2024, a representative of Central Park Avenues submitted two separate construction projects to the Tbilisi Municipal Architecture Service and requested permits to build in Recreation Zone 1. This time, the company requested permits for only two buildings. The initial project was modified — the building heights were reduced by two floors, and the architectural form changed. One building would be 157 meters above ground, and the other 110 meters.

Citizens gathered again in front of Tbilisi City Hall on January 16, 2025, continuing to protest the planned construction. The last protest and concert, organized by citizens and the Musicians’ Union, took place on January 25, 2025.

As of September 2025, the project submitted on December 31, 2024, is still under review. The Architecture Service is asking the company to clarify various construction details.