| The Bulgarian capital Sofia has something unique. Apart from being the driving force of the Bulgarian properties boom during last 4-5 years, it is the only European capital which is located at the foot of a mountain. The suburbs of Boyana, Dragalevci and Simeonovo, and the villages of Bistrica and Gorna Banya are positioned on the mountain’s slopes. The mountain, Vitosha, is a proper mountain and not just a hill, with 10 peaks over 2,000 meters and Cherni Vrah ("Black Peak") with height of 2,290 meters.
The Vitosha mountain has been an obvious choice for weekend holidays for millions of people from the Bulgarian capital for over a century. The mountain’s slopes has a number of ski slope and ski lifts which have attracted many investment companies during last 15 years. Earlier this month, the major player, Vitosha Ski has finally managed to acquire the last of ski lifts connecting the suburbs of Dragalevci with Goli Vrah peak and Simeonovo with the Aleko peak.
The company owned all the other ski lifts on the mountain and is owned/controlled by the same company managing and operating the ski lifts in Bansko.
This last acquisition is closing the circle required in order for a new investment program to be launched. Many of the people who transformed the sleepy mountain village of Bansko into an European ski resort are behind the new project. Kurt Hoch, who is race director of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and Richard Schonher, one of the renounced consultants of the Austrian Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, a world leader in ski lifts and facilities are already working on the new Vitosha project. The €50-80 million investment will bring the ski infrastructure up-to-date and will offer the long-awaited single ski pass giving access to all the ski runs of the mountain. The aim of the new investment project is to reach a 12,000 – 20,000 capacity and all year round service. That will include extending all current ski lifts, replacing existing cabins with modern ones.
The investors are saying they are ready to go ahead with the projects, however considering similar other developments, there will probably be an year before all paperwork is complete.
What has this to do with properties in Sofia and in Bulgaria? Well, you don’t have to be a property expert to come to the conclusion that having a property close to the ski lifts in a European capital, with equitable property market and options for all year round rental income (apart from the ski opportunities, the Bulgarian capital has a population of close to 2 million people) is a rather unique investment opportunity.
You can check for example, <a href="http://www.bulgariaproperties.com/Listing/Apartment/17.html" title="Sofia Ski Apartments">Apartments from only £24,995</a>, a small development ideally located in the <i>Dragalevci</i> suburb. |
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