Archive for the 'Capital (Sofia) property' Category
Monday, July 16th, 2007
Commercial projects in Bulgaria offered for “off-plan” sale
An emerging trend on the Bulgarian business property segment is the marketing to buyers of projects at the design stage,local realtors said, as quoted by Dnevnik Daily. Everything is sold right off the drawing table before even the first sod of ground is turned, said Krasimir Dimitrov from Source Real Estate.
A crucial deal-maker for the buyers is for the respective project to have passed all relevant administrative procedures like rezoning, planning approval, etc. The latest large-scale property to be transacted at the design stage is the 100 million euro Mall Plovdiv sale to GE Real Estate and Quinlan.
The list of major projects transacted so far in 2007 includes also Mall Varna (Varna), Megapark Soravia (Sofia), Business Park Varna (Varna), Porsche Center (Sofia) and Hypermarket Technolux (Pleven). The combined price exceeds 400 mln euro.
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Rents in Sofia are still low and are expected to increase gradually
Rent levels in Sofia are still low 
, on the average by 28 per cent, according to participants in an investor.bg poll. Nearly 15 per cent of those questioned said that rents were high at the moment and would register decrease. According to 10 per cent, rent levels have reached a peak and would grow no more.
Investor.bg reported that the results of the poll show that no predictions can be made concerning developments in the property rental sector in Sofia. Property agents said that some districts would experience price growth for specific types of residential property. Rents will increase in prestigious districts and in those experiencing market dynamics.
According to agents, the rental increase will vary from five to 10 per cent. Rental levels in Sofia are still much lower than those in other European capitals. As a result agents predict further growth in rents.
Friday, June 8th, 2007
Bulgaria Buy to Let to invest in villa communities near Sofia
Bulgaria Buy to Let, the local property investment company, said will invest an undisclosed amount in two villa communities near Sofia. The company said the single-family homes will be marketed to high-income earners looking for a cozy and quiet residential environment in suburban areas at a short commute from the city center.
The gated Princess of Vladaya complex will comprise 23 two-storey detached houses and should be ready by the end of 2008. The second development is located in the village of Petarch. It will place on the market 200 houses and will feature shops, swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts. A communal bus line will offer rides to the city every 30 minutes.
The cheapest home will sell at 132,000 euro for a built-up area of 110 sq m. The most expensive home will sell for 290,000 euro for a built-up area of 240 sq m.
The company plans to acquire more land plots for residential development.
Thursday, June 7th, 2007
Spanish company Riofisa says Sofia mixed-use development to kick off soon
Riofisa SA, a leading Spanish real estate company, said it expects to secure all necessary construction permits and commence work on its mixed-use development in Sofia, said Carlos Pilar, in charge of the company’s international expansion. Riofisa Wednesday was granted a First Class Investor certificate by InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority.
Pilar said the conceptual design of the development will be completed promptly and the company will apply for the relevant permits as soon as possible. The 280,000 sq m built-up area scheme, sited near the Sofia central train station, should be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.
The launch of the 85,000 sq m retail component of the scheme will attract retailers that are not yet present on the Bulgaria market but usually have leases in Riofisa commercial properties.
In addition to retail outlets, the shopping center will feature a supermarket, casino, bowling alleys and cinema theaters.
The property, with an initial estimated cost of 335 mln euro, will be anchored by an 90 m high-rise housing offices and a hotel. The other components of the scheme are still being put together and it has not been decided if they will be office or residential, said Pilar.
In 2006, Riofisa unveiled a 215 mln euro project for a commercial and entertainment center in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second biggest city. Pilar said on Wednesday that the land plot for the scheme has been purchased but refuse to name the location.
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007
Bulgaria eco ministry holds Tishman commercial park development
The 200 mln euro commercial park near the Sofia International Airport being developed by U.S. company Tishman is being held back by the insistence of the Bulgarian environment ministry that the investor submit an environment impact assessment (EIA) for the project. The project cannot be gain construction approval before all the relevant permits are granted by the environment ministry.
The size of the Tishman development has qualified the company for a First Class Investor certificate and administrative support. The InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority, assisted Tishman in arranging a meeting with the ministers of economy and environment to discuss the problem. Initially, the company was asked to submit an EIA but that requirement was later dropped after it was successfully litigated by Tishman.
The U.S. company was then asked for additional information certifying that the project is safe and meets all relevant environment standards. ‘The requested documents have been handed in and we are awaiting the response of the regional environment protection directorate,’ said Pepa Dimitrova from Tishman’s Bulgarian office. is a multi-purpose mix of office, logistics, storage and hotel buildings located 300 m from the new terminal of the Sofia airport. The commercial park will have a 10 ha footprint and built-up area of 256,000 sq m, including 100,000 sq m of office space, 20,000 sq m of warehouse floor area and 40,000 sq m of hotel premises.
A subway station, providing a transportation link with the downtown and the western-most boroughs of the capital, should open in the vicinity of the commercial park within 3 years. A total of 90,000 sq m of office space will be placed on the market during the initial stage of the project. Some 20,000 sq m of logistics and industrial floor area will be built by the fall of 2007.
30,000 sq m of Class A low to mid-rise office buildings will be ready in the first half of 2008.
Friday, May 25th, 2007
Alfa Developments breaks ground for Alfa Business Center in Sofia
Alfa Developments, the Bulgarian property investment company, said it has broken ground for the construction of the mixed-use Alfa Business Center in South-eastern Sofia. , will have a built-up area of 15,700 sq m. It will deliver 7,000 sq m of office space on 7 aboveground levels.
The building is designed to accommodate 116 cars on two underground parking levels. Storage facilities and shops will occupy one semi-underground level.
Alfa Business Center will be first scheme from the multi-purpose BPS Alfa Park that will be completed.
The 110 mln euro BPS Alfa Park, located at a 10 min drive from the Sofia International Airport and a 15 min drive from the center of the capital, is part of the Sofia Park project, the biggest property development ever launched in Bulgaria.
BPS Alfa Park, conceived as an extension of the existing Business Park Sofia office and logistics property, will have total built-up area of 152,000 sq m. Half of the space inventory will be office premises with 20% earmarked for residential use. The complex should be completed by the end of 2010.
Sofia Park, which integrates work and living environments, comprises also Residential Park Sofia, Business Park Sofia (managed by Alfa Developments) and a large-scale mall development, among other properties.
Alfa Developments is a subsidiary of Alfa Finance Holding AD, a local holding company with a portfolio of high-profile finance and real estate projects. The Alfa Developments spread includes also Panorama City, a project for a gated residential community in Varna, and the Sofia Central Park serviced residences.
Investor.bg
Friday, May 18th, 2007
Prices of Residential Properties Go up because of “Road” Fee
The prices of apartments and offices will increase because of the newly introduced “road” fee: the construction entrepreneurs will be obliged to pave streets leading to the newly constructed buildings, and this will probably make them include the costs in the price of the real estates for sale. The investors will build the whole local infrastructure, water-supply and sewerage systems, Peter Dikov, Sofia’s Chief Architect, announced at a conference, dedicated to the real estate market in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
Currently municipalities build the road and sewerage systems, for this reason many of the newly-constructed buildings remain without infrastructure for long periods of time, which keeps away foreign buyers and investors. “It is expected that the price of construction permits will go up, too,” Dikov informed.
The prices of apartments in Bulgaria have hiked by 10% for the last four months. The increase of their costs in 2006 stood at 20%. One-third of all the buyers and investors in Bulgaria are foreign citizens. They, as well as most of the Bulgarians, prefer the luxurious new housing complexes. The price of land is rising, too, realtors informed.
Yuliana Uzanicheva
Standart News
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
Developer adds shopping mall to Tsarigradski compound
A 71 mln lev shopping mall will be added to the gated 
under construction in north-eastern Sofia. The company that will develop the mall project, Sofia Building Enterprise, Wednesday was granted a First Class Investor certificate by the local investment promotion authority.
Sofia Building Enterprise, a subsidiary of construction firm Sofia Building Company which is developing the Tsarigradski housing community, is specially incorporated for the purposes of the mall project. The new shopping center is sited in proximity to the outlets of German retailer Metro and Austrian DIY chain Praktiker and to the locations of planned Carrefour and Turk Mall commercial developments.
The Tsarigradski Mall development will have a footprint of 2.0 ha and a total built-up area of 105,000 sq m, including 35,000 sq m of lettable retail space. The office component of the mall will deliver 15,000 sq m of lettable premises. The construction of the mall, which will employ 1,200 staff after completion, should get underway in the fall and wrap in 2009.
Sofia Building Enterprise provides 30% of the project financing with the remainder coming from an unnamed bank. The mall site is part of the land initially designated for the development of the Tsarigradski residential compound. The tenants of the complex will move into their new homes this summer.
The second section of the complex will be delivered in 2008 with all three sections expected to be completed by 2009, providing housing to 4,000 tenants. There are unsold apartment units only in Tsarigradski III with prices starting from 55o euro/sq m. Sofia Building Company is currently scouting for sites for residential construction in Sofia and along the Black Sea coastline.