Let's Paint Armenia's Apartment Buildings!

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Here we see typical Armenian apartment buildings, sometimes known as tower blocks. These were built with panels of concrete - in the name of efficiency and cost-cutting - in a Soviet attempt to house all of its workers. Many of them look beautiful on the inside, with Euro-style remodels and the latest in furniture and electronic gadgets, unique reflections of the families who live in them. But from the outside, they look old, dirty, uninspired, depressing, and generally bad.

Russia had the same problem, until they began experimenting with color. The result? THIS!


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This is what Armenians need: COLOR! Expression, happiness, art, sillyness, change, brightness! Imagine how the skyline will look if instead of shades of gray we have color. Children all across can create the artworks and adults render them onto the buildings. Flags, landscapes, abstracts, even portraits will adorn decades-old buildings. Our cities will become vibrant and everyone would follow our lead. It would be a rebirth: It would be revolutionary!

Who am I kidding? That would never happen.

Sources: Flickr and LiveJournal (many more pictures here)

300,000 Buildings Lack Property Deeds

Yes, you read that correctly.

A survey by a Non Governmental Organization concerned with citizens’ rights says as many as 300,000 buildings and structures in Armenia lack property deeds.

"The homes of the greater part of people who have appealed to us are not yet included in development zones, but people are concerned as they see many residents of the Kentron community (in the center of Yerevan) became homeless," says attorney Samvel Mkrtchyan, chairman of the NGO.

Mkrtchyan says there’s no guarantee of getting appropriate compensation for homes in development districts, but a property deed assures getting more than not having one.

This is why you shouldn't buy anything real estate in Armenia - at least not until all of these important issues are resolved.

Source: ArmeniaNow

Real Estate Prices Rise in Yerevan

Real estate prices have been booming in Yerevan and most elsewhere. I feel that this can't continue forever and there may be a resulting crash, as a lot of the inflation is artificial, anyway.

The 2006 average market value of a square meter of an apartments in Yerevan has increased by 29% to AMD 196,700/$540. The average price per square meter in the central areas of Yerevan stood at AMD377,600/$1,035.

The most growth was reported in Nubarashen, where an increase of 50.5% was seen.

Does anyone know what accounts for Nubarashen's growth?

Source: Yerevan.ru (translated)

Armenian Ferraris - One Man's Garage

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Many Armenians have done well in this country and abroad, no question about that; and no question about the fact that we must always have the best of everything, as if we were in a perpetual competition with the Armenian Joneses! These Ferraris belong to an Armenian named Armen, but that's as much information as I'm going to give out.

The reason I posted this is to show that anything is possible. When I see young Armenians using words like "gangsta" and "thug" as they look up to unsavory characters, I wonder if they realize that there is a world beyond "Deagles," "hoes," and "chronic." Seriously though, Armen is just one guy out of many who has steered clear of everything that's holding back many among the youth of today within the firm grasp of clever marketing and smoke and mirrors.

Of course, the other reason I posted this picture is because I love homes and I love cars!

New "Armenian Town" Being Built in California

It seems that there was some problem by other news outlets in translating this release correctly. The few that I saw made it seem that a city was being built by Armenians for their sole inhabitation! Here are the facts:

The 10-acre redevelopment project is becoming reality as the first building rises from an area once filled with the modest homes of Armenian immigrants. This will be the new home of Fresno's 5th District Court of Appeals. It will also be the anchor of the 'Armenian Town' redevelopment project, envisioned as a mix of office and retail, as well as public open space and parking.

Jeanette Jurkovich, Friends of Armenian Town, says, "Cities across America embrace old and new development. They know it's not an either/or." Jurkovich says these five homes from the old Armenian Town were to become part of this project. Jurkovich says this area on the 10 acre site across from the Armenian Church would create a bridge from the past to the present. And once restored, could become home to retail, restaurants or art galleries...

So you see, it's merely a re-development project. The reason it was called "Armenian Town" was because of the large number of Armenian immigrants who settled there. In fact, William Saroyan grew up near there in Fresno!

Source: PanArmenian

Armenia Plans Building Purchase in Minsk for Embassy

And now from the, "Spreading Armenian Love from Milan to Minsk" department.

Armenia intends to buy a building in Minsk for its embassy in Belarus, Armenian government's press office reports.
For that purpose, Armenian government has decided to enlarge the state revenue and expenditure by AMD 6.3mln/$17,300

$17,000? That's about enough to buy a used RAV4 in Armenia. Is this a building or a booth?

Source: Arka

Architects Upset Over Armenia's Disappearing Architecture

If you've seen Yerevan over the past decade, then you know very well that the city has changed tremendously. Redevelopment has drastically altered the city center, but not necessarily for the best.

A group of renowned Armenian architects are ringing alarm bells over the few remaining old buildings in central Yerevan that seem to be disappearing in a construction boom which is rapidly changing the city center.

In a joint appeal to Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, they called for the Armenian government’s “immediate intervention” in what they see as an illegal destruction of the country’s historical and cultural heritage.

They listed in particular a dozen buildings dating back to the pre-Soviet period that were supposed to be protected by the state but have been torn down by private developers over the past two years. All of those buildings were included in December 2004 on a government list of over a hundred properties that are not subject to demolition.

The pursuit of profits has once again come at the expense of Armenia and its people.

To read the full article, click here.