Some new luxury at Montenegrin seaside - Lustica Bay project goes as planned, first 70 flat owners are moving into their apartments

Scent of the sea and your own piece of sky. And while you're opening window blinds still half asleep, the view of the open sea just amazes you. Your only concern is to decide if you want to spend the day at your new Mediterranean style home, sip the first morning coffee at the balcony above the water, go to the pool that is few meters away, or descend to the beach you're sharing with your neighbors. And after touring the building site of Lustica Bay complex, we can assure you that all the things mentioned above are true and not a dream.

Although all this seemed so unreallistically distant to us, common people, at the recent presentation of this project, people at Lustica Development, which stands behind this project, confirmed everything was going as planned.

First ten buildings with 70 apartments are ready for tenants, and works in the marina are also going on schedule. Excavation works for the next 16 buildings featuring 90 housing units are in progress, and the construction of these facilities will start very soon. The investor says they expect these buildings, the first hotel and the marina with 176 moorings to be finished in 2017.

Of course, every pleasure has its price. And so the price of real estates within Lustica Bay complex averages EUR 5,000 per square meter, starting from EUR 235,000 for a studio to EUR 1.8 million for a villa. By the moment of our arrival there, over 150 apartments from the first phase had been sold.

Construction of the exclusive summer resort Lustica Bay, in the vicinity of Tivat, is the first greenfield investment in Montenegro. The first phase of construction alone will cost about EUR 1.1 billion. Lustica Bay is under construction on a surface area of about 2.2 million square meters. The first phase will see the construction of seven high-category hotels and two marinas, one for 170 ships and a smaller one for about 50 yachts. The project calls for the construction of a total of about 1,000 residential units, 500 city houses, luxury villas on the hill.

Owners from all parts of the world

Judging by its amenities, it seems that the target clients of Lustica Bay are primarily people with a high purchasing power. Therefore, we've asked the CEO of Lustica Development, Darren Gibson, who the buyers of their real estates are.

- At first, they were mainly citizens of Egypt and Switzerland, given that we too come from Switzerland. Then the structure of future tenants started changing. Now the majority of tenants are people from Switzerland, Egypt and Serbia. There are also Russians (29%) and Montenegrins (10%) among the buyers. Tenants of Lustica Bay come from 9 or 10 countries - Gibson says to eKapija.

By the way, the first tenant of Lustica Bay complex moved into their apartment in early April 2015.

Gibson says it is still too early to talk about trends in the real estate market in 2015, but he also stresses that the first signs are positive, adding that it may be that only the "start of the year" was a bit less productive than usual.

- According to the data provided by officials in Montenegro, this year's tourist season will also be good, which should also affect positive expectations from the viewpoint of real estate sales - Gibson explains to our web portal.

Construction of first hotel starts soon

Construction works on the Lustica Bay site commenced two years ago. The project is situated on an area of 690 hectares abundant with greenery, with the view of the open sea, Montenegrin mountains and Tivat Bay.

Designs for the first out of seven hotels to be built within the Lustica Bay complex were selected among public competition entries. Promenada Hotel, whose construction is planned to kick off in the fourth quarter of this year, will be built on the promenade of the marina, which ensures its exceptional position within this summer resort, says the investor.

By the way, Lustica Development AD is a joint venture of the Montenegrin government (10%) and Orascom Development (90%), established in 2008.

Jelena Djelic

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