Zoldi Bear Chalets & Apartments to Become Part of Borovets Success Story

Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Sergei Stanishev, last week performed the ‘ground breaking’ ceremony for The Super Borovets Ski Project. This major alpine face lift is set to put Bulgaria’s South-West Region and the country’s oldest ski resort and soon to be Eastern Europe’s largest ski resort at the forefront of property investment in Bulgaria.

Enjoying a premium location dominated by pine forests and pristine scenic vistas, the mountain village of Mala Carkva, just minutes from 2 million sqm Super Borovets, has been selected by award-winning Bulgarian property developer Zoldi, whose alpine development projects have featured in the likes of A Place in The Sun magazine, as the location for The Bear Chalets & Apartments. Nestled in the heart of the Rila Mountains, The Bear is set to become truly desirable real estate with 94km of new ski runs, 19 new ski lifts, sports and entertainment facilities on its doorstep as Bulgaria continues to mark its territory in the world of ski tourism.

With an estimated investment of 500 million euro being ploughed into large infrastructure upgrades over the next few years, the Super Borovets project attracted the backing earlier this year of Oman’s State General Reserve Fund, a principal investor in the scheme, whose intention is to further improve the investment potential of the area with plans to also construct an 80-km Rila Highway within the next two and a half years. The 260-million-euro project will involve the construction of a new highway section linking the currently existing Trakia and Strouma highways to Super Borovets with the capital Sofia, slashing travel times from both Sofia International along with the Greece and Macedonia road used by tourists travelling in from Turkey and Eastern Bulgaria.

Forming part of Bulgaria’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, first phase completion envisioned for early 2010 will transform Borovets into an unrivalled ski location, making it one of the best winter travel destinations in the world. Standing at 1,390 metres above sea level and boasting one of the healthiest climates in the world, the alpine resorts long running season together with a continued growth in summer tourism trade will expand Borovets into one of Bulgaria’s most popular skiing resorts and on the back of the significant tourist facilities improvements should see property for sale in Borovets become a profitable investment in the line with the regions improved desirability.

Already adding in the region of 30-40% to land and property prices since the initial its announcement, the Super Borovets plan is one of Bulgaria’s strategically important development projects. Real estate prices however, still remain well below those of neighbouring countries and Europe’s established ski destinations. Proximity to Sofia, a favourable climate and a developed local infrastructure make the Borovets resort and its vicinity hugely attractive as it develops into a new winter tourism hotspot offering strong investment potential. Local tourism authorities are keen to avoid second homes and ski runs syndrome, differentiating Super Borovets from the now established Bansko and the inevitable me-too labelling by primarily marketing the resort as being a year-round destination aimed at Bulgarian holidaymakers. Figures out from the tourism authority show Bulgaria has seen a 7% year-on-year rise in foreign tourist arrivals to approximately 4 million in January-August 2007, which appears to be more than sufficient evidence for easyjet as it announced its first low-cost flights to the country to begin next month to Sofia in perfect time for the winter ski season to bring plane loads of winter sports lovers to Bulgaria’s mountain tops. This news comes as the Standart daily reported that this year Bansko tour operators are expecting more than a million tourists to visit this winter.

Following the sold-out success of its Pine Ridge Chalets & Apartment development, The Bear Chalets and Apartments comprise 41 one and two bedroom duplex apartments, chalets and townhouses generously built to a high specification which includes a fully fitted kitchen. The Bear development offers all ski necessities, ski storage, Laundry, Gym, Shop and Brasserie facilities and a shuttle bus service to main ski area of Borovets at anticipated cost of £7 pp per wk. Prices start from €37,995 for a one bedroom studio with completion scheduled for Spring 2008.

Bulgaria is considered by experts to be one of Eastern Europe key emerging markets backed by evidence from Deutsche Bank property subdivision PREEF which announced in August this year that volume of the property investment market in Bulgaria is expected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2011, as compared with the current $1.7 billion.

With fantastic views over Bulgaria’s highest mountain range, Rila Mountain, The Bear Chalets and Apartments offer overseas investors and ski enthusiasts alike a real opportunity to invest early and reap the huge benefits associated with enjoying a prime location and become part of the Borovets success story.

For more information on The Bear Chalets and Apartments, contact: Zoldi BG on + 44 (0) 1252 843 444 or email info@obeliskinternational.com to request pdf brochure or visit the Zoldi website