The abandoned hotel near the Esentai River in Almaty will not be demolished but will be converted into an IT center, reports infohub.kz.

In response to a request from the editorial office, the Almaty city administration (akimat) said that comprehensive renovation is currently underway at the site. The work includes updating the facade and window openings, remodeling the interior, and improving the surrounding area.

After the work is completed, the building is planned to house the Almaty IT Hub. The investor in the project is LeanQor LLP, which is financing the renovation with its own funds. This same company removed a famous mural in Almaty during the renovation of a building facade on Nazarbayev Avenue.

According to the akimat, the building was previously in unsatisfactory condition. Instead of demolition, the authorities decided to use the idle building and adapt it for city needs. After the project is completed, the building along with the land plot is planned to be transferred to the Almaty City Digitalization Department.

"In the future, the facility will be used for the implementation of state programs in the field of digitalization and artificial intelligence development, as well as for housing residents working in IT, AI, creative industries, and other related areas," the department added.

It is not yet known exactly what the building will look like after renovation. One can assume that the former hotel will get a more modern facade with lots of glass, befitting a future IT hub. However, the question remains why change the exterior of a building that is 100% complete.

Recall that on August 26, reports of the building's demolition and footage of the dismantled facade appeared on social media. The nine-story complex with an area of about 9,500 square meters in the Koktem-3 microdistrict, 22, was built in 2017 as a hotel. However, it never opened.

In 2022, the unfinished building was put up for sale, but no buyer was found, and the property continued to sit empty. In March 2025, a fire broke out in the building. In June 2025, it was reported that the hotel was on the balance sheet of the Limited Liability Partnership "Company for the Management of Returned Assets" (KUVA), but later KUVA denied this.

Later it became known that the hotel was transferred to the state by Kairat Satybaldy, the nephew of the first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.