When Archi Group’s Ilia Tsulaia acquired a growth parcel within the coronary heart of Tbilisi in 2023, he mentioned he sought out a model that might convey worldwide consideration to Georgia.
If consideration was the aim, Archi Group picked the best associate. Tsulaia tapped the Trump Group as its branding partner for a 62-story condo tower to anchor a $2 billion mega-development. The partners announced the banner project with a launch party final month, that includes Eric Trump through video, conventional Georgian dancers with daggers and a video animation of Trump Tower taking part in to the music “Y.M.C.A.”
No different model might generate the identical degree of consideration for the challenge as Trump, Tsulaia mentioned.
The Trump model is “why we’re speaking at present, proper?” Tsulaia mentioned to The Actual Deal in an interview over Zoom. “If I introduced 4 Seasons, for instance, in Georgia, you wouldn’t ask me why.”
Tsulaia has large plans for the challenge, which he hopes will rework Tbilisi right into a vacation spot for rich patrons. However a lot of the curiosity within the challenge has targeted on Archi’s partnership with the Trump Group, and within the U.S., the potential for conflicts of curiosity has drawn scrutiny.
Trump stepped away from his household’s enterprise previous to his first time period, handing the administration of the corporate over to Eric and Don Jr. and pledging to cease pursuing international offers. That pledge didn’t prolong to his second time period. The Trump Group has supplied its model to developments in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Oman, sparking criticism that Trump’s companions and buyers might be in search of to purchase affect with the administration.
The Tbilisi challenge has raised related considerations due to its ties to politically related figures in Georgia. The challenge will likely be constructed on land previously owned by the household of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s prime minister from 2012 to 2013 and founding father of the Georgian Dream get together. The U.S. Treasury Division sanctioned Ivanishvili in 2024 for undermining Georgia’s democracy and the “Euro-Atlantic way forward for Georgia for the good thing about the Russian Federation.”
In 2023, Archi and its growth companions agreed to purchase the land for the deliberate mega-development for as much as $85 million from a basis managed by members of Ivanishvili’s household, in response to the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for the challenge mentioned all of the funds had been made by July 2026.
The Journal additionally lately reported that Tsulaia was a part of a bunch that went to Washington, D.C., final 12 months to push for higher Georgian-U.S. ties with lawmakers and administration officers.
Eric Trump informed TRD final month that “[Trump Tower Tbilisi] has nothing to do with the affect of a authorities or the affect of my father.” Tsulaia, a former member of parliament the Journal described as “aligned” with the Georgian Dream get together, mentioned the partnership with the Trump Group was solely a enterprise determination.
“From the primary assembly with the Trump Group and its representatives we solely mentioned enterprise,” mentioned Tsulaia. “We have now by no means talked about politics.”
Constructing the subsequent Dubai
For Tsulaia, the draw of the Trump title is easy: It might assist entice worldwide patrons to a market the place luxurious actual property continues to be in its infancy.
Archi Group is the biggest developer in Georgia, controlling about 18 p.c of the market within the former Soviet republic wedged between Asia and Europe. The nation isn’t a part of the European Union and its accession bid to affix has stalled, however its financial system grew 7.5 p.c final 12 months.
Georgia has additionally emerged as a vacationer vacation spot, drawing a file 5.5 million worldwide vacationers in 2025. Guests can wander Tbilisi’s fourth-century fortress or the cobblestone streets within the outdated city and marvel at each classical and “Soviet Modernist” structure.
However Tsulaia’s firm is pitching a distinct model of Georgia: a sprawling six-tower mega-development designed by Gensler with glass skyscrapers and Miami-inspired purchasing facilities. Archi and its social media staff have drawn parallels to Dubai.
“Nonetheless enthusiastic about the alternatives that you just missed whereas Dubai was booming?” requested a lady in a Facebook video strolling by means of Tbilisi. “Then don’t wait till everybody begins speaking about Georgia.”
To be the subsequent Dubai is a lofty ambition for any luxurious market. The Gulf metropolis and Emirate recorded 500 property gross sales exceeding $10 million in 2025, making it one of many world’s most lively luxurious markets.
Tsulaia has even in contrast the Trump Tower in Tbilisi to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest constructing on the earth.
“The Burj Khalifa is in downtown Dubai and is the principle iconic constructing of downtown Dubai,” mentioned Tsulaia. “We’re doing a brand new challenge downtown Tbilisi. So it was additionally an inspiration.”
Tbilisi’s residential costs are far decrease than Dubai’s, and people of most different luxurious locations. New residential condos or flats go for lower than $200 per sq. foot. In Downtown Dubai, the median residence value per sq. foot is about $820 per sq. foot, in response to Engel & Völkers. The median rental value in Manhattan was $1,575 per square foot based on TRD’s data analysis.
Trump Tower Tbilisi will command a considerable premium for the market with studios anticipated to go for $290,000, or $650 to $1,000 per sq. foot, in response to a launch.
The asking costs would put the event in a distinct league from most of Tbilisi’s residential market, testing whether or not an internationally acknowledged model can command Dubai-level costs within the Georgian capital.
In contrast to New York and Dubai, Tbilisi isn’t a longtime monetary hub or vacation spot for rich residents trying to park money. Alex Sapir, a Trump Tower Tbilisi co-developer, beforehand informed TRD that when he mentions his household from Georgia, most individuals assume he’s referring to the U.S. state.
However Tsulaia mentioned he has already examined the marketplace for luxury-branded residences in Georgia. Archi partnered with hospitality model Swissôtel on a hotel-residential growth in Kobuleti, Georgia, on the Black Sea. It has additionally labored with the Marriott model Le Méridien on an upcoming challenge in Sioni, Georgia. Tsulaia mentioned the constructing gross sales are going “very properly,” with about 80 p.c of purchasers coming from exterior of Georgia.
Israeli patrons make up a big chunk of the offers, in response to Tsulaia. Israelis accounted for 12 p.c of residence purchases in Tbilisi in main developer’s initiatives in 2025, in response to funding analysis agency Galt & Taggart. The flight from Tel Aviv is just about two and a half hours. Georgia additionally boasts low taxes and the people usually keep away from paying capital positive aspects taxes on actual property held for greater than two years.
Nonetheless, the Trump title isn’t any assure of success.
The Trump Group’s earlier try and lend its model to a luxurious tower in Georgia ended due to conflicts of curiosity considerations. A Trump-branded residential tower in Batumi, on the Black Beach, was canceled through the transition to Trump’s first time period.
A Trump-branded challenge in neighboring Azerbaijan additionally failed and the New Yorker characterised it as Trump’s worst deal. The Trump Group pulled its title from the challenge in 2016, and a portion of the 33-story constructing caught hearth in 2018. The tower was rebranded underneath Ritz-Carlton and opened in 2022.
However Tsulaia sees little cause Tbilisi can’t compete with the world’s high luxurious locations. He’s betting the situation helps too.
“You already know, Trump Tower is subsequent to Central Park in New York, proper?” he mentioned. “And in addition in Georgia, we’ve our Central Park, which isn’t much less good than New York Central Park.”
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