Green Property Development CJSC plans to build a multifunctional complex on the land occupied by the pool near the Republic of Armenia National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry located at 26/1 Azatutyan in the Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district of Yerevan. The company acquired the property in May 2019.

Artashes Vardanyan, Executive Director of Green Property Development CJSC, says that they plan to carry out mixed construction so that half will be a business center that will create 120 jobs and the other half will be a hotel-residential complex.

The Yerevan Municipality Information and Public Relations Department told Hetq that Green Property Development CJSC submitted an application for construction to the municipality on September 29, 2019.

"An application was submitted to the Yerevan Municipality for a construction permit on the land occupied by the pool located at 26/1 Azatutyun near the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry. The company's architectural plan and sketch have not been approved. The Yerevan Municipality submitted the application to the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports (ESCS), as the area in question is located within the protection zone of the monuments around the Mnjoyan Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry”, the Municipality said.

The ESCS Ministry confirms that the area is included in the state list under historical and cultural monuments in Yerevan city as a monument of local significance belonging to the Mnjoyan Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry.

In a conversation with us, Executive Director of Green Property Development CJSC Artashes Vardanyan notes that there are no restrictions stated on recorded ownership certificates for the given land. The ESCS [Ministry] is guided by a document that is just a draft. In 2012 the Ministry of Culture developed a project to create protection zones. They included city monuments and took some pictures in the area surrounding them, and now they’re saying that these are protection zones, which isn’t legal. We don’t have any monuments on our company’s property.”

The approved construction regulation zone number 2.1 under contract is located at 26/1 Azatutyan, within the protection zones for Yerevan city historical and cultural monuments. That makes it possible for construction work to be carried out in the protection zones. However, the architectural solutions for new buildings should be dictated by the historical and architectural requirements for the site on a case-by-case basis.

Robert Hakobyan, Chairman of the Council of Young Scientists of the Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry, says that they want to build a residential complex in the middle of five chemistry buildings, endangering the existence of the institute.

"The Institute is engaged in chemical activities and chemical emissions are inevitable. That is why the residential complex and the Institute cannot be next to each other. A year ago, a representative of Green Property Development CJSC came to the Institute and said that they are building a 12-storey residential complex. Once they realized that we were mostly young people who were against the construction around the pool, they said that they would give us affordable apartments. We answered that we had nothing more to say to them. Nevertheless, they emphasized that they are going forward with the construction,” said Robert Hakobyan.

Robert Hakobyan

Executive Director of Green Property Development CJSC Artashes Vardanyan notes that their team met with the employees of the Institute and offered their help for further developing the institute. "We have offered apartments to the staff of the Institute for those who need it, within the framework of the Affordable Housing for Young Scientists program, which did not receive a positive response from the staff.”

According to researcher Robert Hakobyan, about a year ago the State Property Management Committee came to the Institute and measured the three green areas adjacent to the pool. The area is about 2,500 square meters. The employees of the Institute are against the sale of the land and have carried out an online petition. At the same time, in 2020 Robert Hakobyan and 212 representatives of the Institute’s scientific community reached out to the State Control Service to understand the legality of the process. In response to their request, they were told that monitoring had been carried out, which stated that "the area adjacent to the swimming pool belonging to a private company can be alienated only with the consent of the National Academy of Sciences." In addition, the State Control Service announced that construction of the apartment building in that area was assessed by the person carrying out the monitoring activity as contradicting Article 12, Section 1, Clause A in the Republic of Armenia Law on Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activities.

In response to our written inquiry, Deputy Chairman of the State Property Management Committee Vardan Kostanyan said that the three sides adjacent to the pool near the Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry at 26/1 Azatutyan were separated as separate property units and the corresponding plot of land was registered at 26/10 Azatutyan Avenue. This plot of land was originally planned to be submitted for alienation, but after some time the process of land alienation was stopped. With regards to this, Artashes Vardanyan mentions that Green Property Development CJSC wanted to buy that area to construct an underground parking lot and above-ground landscaping. “At some point, we had to give up that area, because we realized that it would give us more problems. In any case, the land we own is 3,000 square meters, and we can build a parking lot there as well.”

Robert Hakobyan notes that the pool is significant for the Institute in preventing and responding to emergency situations. However, the pool hasn’t belonged to the Institute since 2007, even though it is within the gates of the Institute. Since it belongs to another owner, the Institute’s staff do not have a de jure right to fix the pool or fill it with water.

Back in 2009, Vigen Topuzyan, Director of the Scientific-Technological Center for Organic-Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the Republic of Armenia National Academy of Sciences, addressed a question to the head of the Yerevan Fire Inspectorate H. Hakobyan, asking for information about the necessary volume of water for the Institute’s pool. In response, Hakobyan noted that a 250 cubic meter pool in the center is necessary. Twenty liters per second of water is needed for external fire extinguishing of 2-6 floors of a building that is 5,000-25,000 meters in depth.

Artashes Vardanyan believes that the Institute and the multifunctional complex are compatible, because the Institute is a research center and legally there can be no emissions in any administrative area of the city that might harm the population and the environment. Otherwise, the Institute is obliged to report emissions to the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Environment.

The issue of the construction to be carried out in the private area occupied by the pool near the Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry was discussed at the 17th sitting of the Scientific-Methodological Council of the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Education and Science held on September 18, 2020, and it was not approved.

Artashes Vardanyan assures that the construction process is in progress but that the investment program has been postponed due to the military and economic situation in the country, not due to the Institute.

Author: Shushanik Miskaryan, Ani Ghulinyan, Anna Arzumanyan

Coordinator: Tirayr Muradyan