Boni-Gorodok in Batumi: year-round living, renovation and long-term rentals
Boni-Gorodok is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern part of Batumi, inland from the sea, by the Bartskhana river. People live here all year: Soviet five- and nine-storey blocks, private houses with courtyards, recent new buildings, and schools, kindergartens and markets close by. Apartments are bought to live in and let long-term. We renovate apartments and houses, find homes for families and let them to reliable tenants.
Housing
The core of the neighbourhood is Soviet five- and nine-storey blocks in brick and panels. Apartments in them have a separate kitchen and a balcony, and the services almost everywhere are due for replacement. Next to them stand private houses with small courtyards, many extended in several stages, and recent new buildings, usually lower than the seaside high-rises.
Apartments here are more often 2+1 and 3+1 than studios. The ground floors hold shops, pharmacies, workshops and small cafés for local residents.
Terrain, sea and soil
The neighbourhood lies on the plain inland from the sea, on the eastern edge of Batumi where the city meets the hills. The Bartskhana river flows through it. In places the groundwater is close to the surface, and basements and ground-floor apartments of old buildings can be damp.
There is less sea salt here than on the beachfront, but humidity is just as high: rarely below 70 %. Adjara is seismically active, so when replanning a Soviet apartment we do not touch load-bearing walls without a structural engineer's calculation.
Infrastructure
Everything for daily life is close: schools, kindergartens, markets, supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics and workshops. Buses and minibuses run to the centre, the sea and other parts of the city. Small markets, bakeries and workshops on the neighbourhood streets have served residents for years.
There are few tourists, and the neighbourhood lives an ordinary city life all year round. Parking in courtyards is easier than in the centre, but new buildings without their own car park quickly fill the streets with cars.
Boni-Gorodok is one of the Batumi neighbourhoods where people live all year round and tourists are rarely seen. It has Soviet five- and nine-storey blocks, private houses with courtyards and recent new buildings, with schools, kindergartens and markets nearby. Apartments are bought for one's own family and let long-term. Below is what to consider when buying, renovating and letting.
Boni-Gorodok in Batumi: living all year round
The neighbourhood is chosen by families, people who moved to Batumi for work, and those for whom price matters: a square metre here is usually noticeably cheaper than by the sea. Neighbours live here in winter too, so courtyards do not empty and shops do not close after the season. The sea is further than from the centre, and people usually go to the beach by bus or car.
In the evening it is quiet here: there is no resort nightlife, and the noise comes mostly from courtyards and roads. For people who work from home or are raising children, this often matters more than a beach five minutes away.
Apartments here are more often larger than in the seaside high-rises: 2+1 and 3+1 with a separate kitchen. How to choose an apartment for a family is explained on our page about two-bedroom apartments in Batumi.
An apartment in a Soviet building
Most apartments in Boni are in Soviet buildings. In almost all of them the services are due for replacement: the wiring is often aluminium, the risers cast iron and the gas pipes old. Over the decades balcony slabs and entrance canopies crack, and on the top floors the roof leaks, and neighbours pay for its repair together. Before buying we check all of this together with the Public Registry extract.
In many Soviet buildings balconies are glazed or extended with add-ons, sometimes across several floors at once. If an extension is not reflected in the extract, the apartment's area on paper is smaller than in reality, and this is worth factoring into the price. An extension on the cantilevers of an old balcony is inspected by a structural engineer: the load on the old slab is often higher than designed.
Renovating such an apartment usually starts with removing old finishes and replacing the services, and any replanning is matched to what may be touched in a Soviet building. The sequence of work is described on our page about renovating resale homes.
A private house in Boni
The neighbourhood has many private houses with small courtyards, often extended in several stages. They are bought to live in with a family or to let out floor by floor. We check such a house carefully: whether the building matches the extract, whether there are floors without a permit, and what state the foundation and floors are in. A major renovation of a private house usually covers the roof, façade, services and damp in the plinth; more on our page about house renovation.
Letting an apartment long-term
Demand for long-term rental in Boni is steady all year: families, people working in the city and students rent here. Apartments here are rarely let by the night; resort guests look for places closer to the sea. For a long let what matters most is a reliable tenant, a clear contract and an apartment where nothing breaks every month. How we find and screen tenants is described on our page about finding and screening tenants.
New buildings in the neighbourhood
New buildings are also going up between the old ones in Boni, usually lower than the seaside high-rises. Apartments in them are cheaper than by the sea and suit living. If a building is under construction, before the deposit we check the developer, the permit and the deadlines; apartments in new buildings are covered on our page about apartments in new buildings.
Questions and answers
Is Boni-Gorodok suitable for living with children?
Yes, families often choose it. Schools, kindergartens, markets and clinics are close, neighbours live here all year, and apartments are larger and cheaper than by the sea. The drawback is that the beach is further away, and people usually go to the sea by bus or car. For a family we look at the floor, the lift, the courtyard and the way to school.
How does the cost of living in Boni compare with the centre?
A square metre in Boni is usually cheaper than in the centre, let alone by the sea, and rents are lower too. A service charge like in new complexes is usually absent in Soviet buildings, but neighbours chip in together for repairs to the entrance, roof or risers. Utility bills are the same as in other neighbourhoods, and higher in winter because of heating.
What should I check in a private house in Boni before buying?
Whether what stands on the plot matches the Public Registry extract and whether there are floors and extensions without a permit, the state of the foundation, floors and roof, and where the damp in the plinth comes from. Houses here were often extended in several stages, so a structural engineer checks how the new parts rest on the old ones. If in doubt, we check the documents and structure before the deposit.
Can an apartment in Boni be let by the night?
It can, but demand is low: resort guests look for places closer to the sea. Apartments in Boni let much better long-term, to families, people working in the city and students, and demand here is steady all year. For such letting a reliable tenant, a contract with a deposit and working appliances matter.
Terms used on this page
- Public Registry extract
- A document from Georgia's state registry: the owner, cadastral code, area, legal use and encumbrances of a property on the date of issue.
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