Bulgarian Property Market

The Regional Development and Public Works Ministry has shortlisted six architectural studios for the design of a Government centre, meant to rise on the area near the sixth km of the Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard in Sofia, Dnevnik daily reported.Out of 19 applicants, the ministry shortlisted FosterPartners, a Londonbased firm led by worldrenown architect Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid Architects, French studio Dominique Perrault Architecture, Obedinenie G3, the studio of Bulgarian architect Georgi Stoilov, Italian studio Massimiliano Fuksas Architetto and consortium ADAIS proekt with Stoilov presiding over 18 companies involved in design, construction and planning.

Belgian company Ilpa Development will invest 25 million euro in the construction of a combined office and retail building on Tsarigradsko Chaussee in close proximity to the Metro and Technomarket superstores. Arco Real Estate, the company presenting the project on the market, said that the investor was seeking buyers for parts or the entire building. According to website investor.bg, Ilpa Development initially had plans to sell the building off plan. The construction already began and it is expected that the project would be completed by 2010.

Dimitrovgrad is set to get a brand new bus terminal by the end of 2009, even though the final documentation for the project is yet to be signed. The contract has been postponed by three months due to technical ambiguity surrounding the vertical planning of the structure, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut reported. With construction reaching advancing stages, it was revealed that this particular part of the project needed a rethink, a redesign and subsequent reimplementation.

The municipality of Sozopol, a Bulgarian Black Sea resort town, has implemented a construction plan, which aims to attract the rich and famous. Affluent tourists will be teased with the creation of a small airport for private aircraft, with a runway spanning 1.8km between the Ravna Gora and Izvor villages, Bulgarian construction news website stroitelstvo.bg reported. Sozopol chief architect Roumen Alexandrov and the mayor of the town Panayot Reizi have unveiled the plans which also include a 30ha recreational park near Gradina Camping.

Spanish investor Hercesa Internacional plans to inject 500 million euro in Bulgaria, 210 million of which will be directed toward the building of an entire neighbourhood with fine infrastructure and even a train station to connect its residents to various parts of Sofia, owner Juan Jose SercadilloCalvo said at a news conference on October 8 2008, at the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum. In addition to fine quality construction and design, Hercesa Internacional says it would offer potential clients an accessible payment plan to make its product available to more people.