Tbilisi Auctions Ten Abandoned Soviet Spas With Renovation Mandates

The Georgian government has listed ten deteriorating Soviet-era sanatoriums in the spa town of Tskaltubo for public sale.

The online auction launched on October 20 and will close on November 15. The state is seeking the equivalent of $3.3 million for the flagship Medea sanatorium. A buyer must also pledge an additional $24 million for a five-year renovation project.

The renovation plan for Medea requires the construction of at least 120 guest rooms, conference halls, and restaurants. The other nine properties in the auction carry similar requirements. Their initial asking prices range from $1 million to $3.5 million, with mandates to invest considerable sums in restoration.

Frederic Le Fichoux, a commercial real estate expert who contributed to a 2020 feasibility study for the town, noted that the terms address a specific infrastructure gap. He argued that renovating a single building may not suffice if the surrounding area remains neglected. "If you are one investor and you buy, you renovate that property that you bought, you turn it around," Le Fichoux said, "but then the rest of the destination is still kept as a ruin."

The state has previously attempted to sell these assets through open markets. Seven sanatoriums changed hands in earlier auctions, but three have since reverted to state control. The Medea complex was one of them, returned to the government in 2024 after its previous owner failed to meet contractual obligations. David Sichinava, a Canada-based academic who grew up in Tskaltubo, described the redevelopment strategy as an "all or nothing" effort.

Sichinava pointed to a specific legal advantage for the town. Tskaltubo is exempt from permit fees for casino operators, a cost that can reach $1.9 million annually in other parts of Georgia. He stated that therapeutic bathing alone may not generate enough tourism revenue to sustain the town's capacity. "Balneology alone can't really support the kind of tourists that this town can host," he said.

The sale process follows a 2019 pledge by Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's wealthiest businessman and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, to purchase the properties. Ivanishvili had promised a full-scale rehabilitation but abandoned the plan. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze cited the pandemic and de facto sanctions against Ivanishvili as the reasons for the cancellation. Since the 1990s, the buildings also housed refugees from the Abkhazia and South Ossetia conflicts. Most have since moved out, leaving an estimated 100 to 200 displaced residents in the structures.