Lviv is bursting at the seams: the outskirts are being built up with new neighborhoods without the city's consent.

In early December, Lviv's deputy mayor for urban planning, Lyubomyr Zubach, named a large-scale residential project in in the suburban village of Sokilnyky "a complete mess." This refers to the construction of high-rise buildings on almost 50 hectares of land right next to the city, which, according to the city council, threatens a transport collapse.Sokilnyky is not the only example. In recent years, apartment construction has intensified in Solonka, Davydov, Zymna Voda, and Pidberiztsi. Formally, these are separate communities, but in fact, they are a continuation of the city Lviv. What are the risks for the city and why is this happening? Read Lesia Solovchuk's article.Why are they building outside the city?After 2022, Lviv became one of the main centers of internal migration. The demand for housing increased sharply, along with prices.In 2025, a square meter in new buildings here is sold for $1400. For comparison: in Kyiv it costs $1300, Odesa – $1100, Uzhhorod $1000, according to lun.ua.Read alsoSteep dive. Why apartment rentals in Kyiv have suddenly become cheaperIn terms of apartment rental costs, the city is second only to Uzhhorod, which makes Lviv an attractive location for real estate investment.However, building new residential complexes in Lviv is not that simple. "The city has limited land resources," explains Yuriy Martynyuk, executive director of the Association of Western Ukrainian Developers. In addition, there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in approvals. "The city authorities are tough on developers. There is a lot of subjectivity in the requirements," says Roman Davymuka, executive director of Avalon.In addition, in 2024, Lviv's historical and architectural reference plan was approved, designed to protect the historic city center. According to the document, no buildings higher than 18 meters can be erected in the protected area. This is five to six floors.The document is outdated and does not fulfill its direct purpose of protecting architectural heritage, according to Martyniuk from the Association of Western Ukrainian Developers. The height restrictions apply to 60% of the city's territory, not just the city center, he claims. Many buildings in this protected area exceed the permitted height.Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who spoke with LIGA.net, admits that it is not easy to get a construction project approved in the city. "Often, Kyiv builders are very indignant that it is easier to resolve this in Kyiv," he says, adding that "Lviv has its own rules, there is no one to negotiate with here, and the community's position is sacred." Sadovyi says that there will be no districts in Lviv similar to the chaotically built Kyiv's Pozniaky.There is less bureaucracy and cheaper land in the suburbs, says Avalon executive director Roman Davymuka. The company has a project in the suburban area of Sokilnyky, in the south of Lviv.Read alsoKyiv vs. the suburbs. New residential complexes in the Kyiv region have surpassed the capital in both construction pace and sales.New microdistricts without a cityOne of the high-profile cases is the Auroom company's project on the western outskirts of Lviv, near the Levandivka neighborhood. It involves 23 hectares of land in the Zymna Voda community.The project includes approximately 3,700 apartments, multi-story residential buildings, parking lots, retail spaces, a hotel, a school, and a kindergarten. Auroom advertises its apartments as housing in Lviv.In December 2024, the Zymna Voda village council approved two adjacent detailed plans. The first changed the status of the plots from individual housing construction to residential, and the second allowed the construction of high-rise buildings.The Lviv City Hall complains that the village council did not coordinate the detailed plans with the city council during their development. Even though this plot of land is directly adjacent to Lviv, it emphasizes in a comment. LIGA.net Lyubomyr Zubach, Deputy Mayor of Lviv for Urban Planning.The city hall believes that such a project puts pressure on the city's infrastructure. "All the people who will settle in the high-rise buildings built on these hectares will go to Lviv for work, to schools and kindergartens, for medical treatment, for shopping, and this will be a collapse," the deputy mayor is convinced.At the same time, schools in residential areas on the outskirts of Lviv are already overcrowded was telling City council member Viktoriia Khrystenko said, "There's a collapse in Levandivka, and in Sykhiv too."In addition to Zymna Voda, apartment buildings are also being actively built in Davydov, Solonka, Pidberiztsi, and Sokilnyky.Read alsoNBU: Housing market is slowing down – sales are growing sluggishly, buyers are afraid of war risksHouses right next to the airportConstruction in Sokilnyky is the most controversial project in the suburbs of Lviv. Residential complexes have been built here before, but now there are plans to build multi-apartment housing on almost 50 hectares right next to Lviv airport.According to the plan, more than 50 apartment buildings are to be built on the site. Earlier, airport representatives reported that the implementation of this plan could effectively block the airport's operation in the future, the publication wrote. Zaxid.net.These territories were reserved for the development of the airport, confirms the mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi.The project did not receive approval from the city authorities, as required by law. Therefore, the city hall sued the developer. The goal is to block the construction. "The airport also went to court," Sadovyi tells LIGA.net.The Sokilnyky village council has gone too far, encroaching on reserve territories for the airport's development, he believes.Construction right next to the airport is not the only ambitious construction project in Sokilnyky. According to Lviv Deputy Mayor Lyubomyr Zubach, there are a total of 158 hectares of land in the suburban village that was previously outside the settlement. Residential quarters are planned to be built on most of this land."We are not naive boys and girls, and we understand that all the people who will settle in the high-rise buildings constructed on these hectares will go to Lviv for work, to schools and kindergartens, for medical treatment, and for shopping. And this will be a collapse," Zubach said.At the same time, the city will be responsible for establishing the infrastructure. Sadovyi is outraged by this. "Who will solve the problems with transport, sewerage, water supply, schools, kindergartens, and hospitals?" he asks rhetorically.Read alsoA new factory has opened in Lviv: it will be able to produce 200,000 sq. m of sandwich panels per monthWhat do developers say about this?Developers acknowledge that the suburbs are attractive due to more lenient regulations and cheaper land. In addition, suburban areas are developing near many large cities."Construction in the suburbs is a natural process. In Kyiv, the dacha towns around the capital have also turned into a competitive market," says Roman Davymuka, executive director of Avalon.He agrees that the burden on the city's infrastructure from mass construction is increasing. No one will go to the village if they can cross the road and go to a Lviv school, says Davymuka. However, according to him, in some residential complexes, developers are solving infrastructure issues separately.The Lviv authorities attempted to influence the chaotic development of the suburbs. In 2023, the city united with adjacent settlements into the "Lviv Agglomeration" association.However, this mechanism does not work flawlessly. For example, Sokilnyky, which allowed development on land near the airport, did not join the association. And the village of Zymna Voda, although it joined the association, is in no hurry to approve construction projects that will drastically increase its population from 8,000 to 50,000 people.Currently, Lviv is losing the conflict with Sokilnyky. On December 23, 2025, the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal closed the proceedings on the lawsuit of the Lviv City Council to appeal the changes to the general plan of the village of Sokilnyky. This refers to the same hectares right next to Lviv airport.Read also"We put the assholes in their place." 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