In 1915, he conceived a project to create a public park where people would go for walks and socialize. With the crisis caused by the war raging and resources scarce, the city council voted down the initiative, considering that there were better uses for the budget at the time of war. However, other merchants stepped in to vouch for Kalmakov’s project, since there was no one who could do this work as quickly and efficiently as him.

Just like his fellow city residents, Kalmakov rented out rooms to people coming to the Irbit Fair.

Famous for his hospitality, he accommodated merchants from other cities, including Davlen Kildeyev, Mohamed Mustafa from Petropavlovsk, Adbul Iskakov from Tyumen, who traded in all sorts of goods, leather merchant Ivan Reshetnikov from Tyumen – Kalmakov was not afraid of competition, as well as Fyodor and Sosipatr Reshetnikov, who were closely related to Ivan. Fur trader Farkhutdin Farkhutdinov from Tomsk also stayed at Kalmakov’s house. The fact that there were so many Tatar names among his guests was quite normal since Kalmakov lived in Irbit’s district also known as the Tatar Quarter, where buyers and sellers of Siberian furs converged.

He started by buying a one-story mansion built in 1858 at the corner of Torgovaya Street and Permskaya Street, now known as Lenina and Karla Marksa streets, respectively. The building has a rather modest and austere appearance: brick walls with just seven windows in the front and ornate brickwork as the only decoration. There was no garden there, just the building itself, a few outbuildings and a spacious courtyard.

To make his dream come true, he turned to local craftsmen by recruiting V. Bering to design the new building. The massive brick walls were built to last for centuries. The building had lancet windows, stone scallops on the roof and elegant lighting turrets on the corners, as well as a gate and a forged entrance door. In fact, every element was reminiscent of a Gothic medieval fortress. Unique for its time, even today the Kalmakov House is an unusual sight not only for Irbit but also for the Urals in general.

He had a grand piano in his home, three phonographs and 240 cylinders with music recordings, which earned him the reputation of a music lover among Irbit residents.

But Kalmakov’s hobbies went beyond music: he had a big collection of photographs and oleographs in his home, as well as dozens of gypsum statues. There was also a large library there filling several bookcases and shelves.