OKOL Lake Park will be neither a residential nor a holiday complex, but a quiet contemporary “village”, however exclusive and offering all the amenities of the modern urban lifestyle. The project covers an area of 3,000 decares and will be a unique environment for active living and recreation that brings together an 18-hole golf course, a 5* Pullman hotel with 149 keys and 40 branded houses, more than 650 individual plots for custom houses, as well as a center with many additional facilities and amenities – school up to grade 7, kindergarten, medical center, office area, sports and adventure center, farm, shops, restaurants, property management company and many more services.

Located only 30 km away from Sofia, with an easy access of 40 minutes on the renovated road to Samokov, the complex reveals breathtaking views of the Iskar Lake, the natural forests around it and the Rila, Vitosha and Plana mountains and the Balkan Range. The ski resort of Borovets is 25 km away.

OKOL Lake Park is located on the territory of Samokov municipality and is an extension of the urbanized area of the village Gorni Okol.

Find more about the location here.

The investor, developer and main contractor of the project is the Bulgarian holding company Markan Holding AD. Its main investments are in construction, real estate, education and hospitality. The company owns the Novotel Sofia Hotel, the prestigious international school American-English Academy and a number of other interests in about 20 subsidiaries.

The holding’s flagship is Markan Ltd. It was founded in 1993 and is one of the leaders in the construction industry in Bulgaria, working only with private investors. The company is specialized in consulting and turn-key execution of some of the largest and most complex investment projects in Bulgaria. State-of-the-art solutions in technology and organization are applied in all the projects the company designs and constructs.

The project is implemented through the special purpose company Golf Okol EAD.

OKOL Lake Park has the ambition of challenging the norms and offering new ideas. There is a lot of personal attitudes and a lot of emotional value invested in this project. It is no coincidence that the project company is registered in the city of Samokov. Not only because the project will be executed on the territory of the municipality, but also because Markan is a company founded and connected with Samokov. The owners and a significant part of the team are from Samokov. Markan remains the owner of the golf course and the hotel, and will carry out with its own structures or through partnerships most of the services.

It is vital that the project is financially successful, but that is far from its primary reason. The idea behind it is to do something different and meaningful, to be demanding and honest with ourselves and the environment we live in – to keep it alive and open – for people to know each other, to communicate with their neighbors, with nature and with the local community.

OKOL Lake Park is under construction, with groundbreaking taken place on August 1, 2020. In 2023, the golf course and hotel complex will open and the infrastructure and the first homes will be commissioned.

The next development phase will include the elements at the Centre, the Farm and the Adventure Park.

The construction of all the houses is expected to cover 10 – 15 years, at a rate of about 60 – 70 houses per year.

Our Construction progress can be tracked here.

Construction is in active stage – the infrastructure, external connections, the hotel, the golf course and the first custom-designed houses are being built.  The Construction progress can be tracked here.

Yes, financial partners of OKOL Lake Park are Unicredit Bulbank and Postbank.

The golf course and hotel complex are the beating heart of OKOL Lake Park. They create a sense of entirety from their opening and will offer numerous services to the very first residents.

The first of its kind in Bulgaria, the 5-star premium Pullman hotel will be managed by Accor – a global leader in the hospitality industry and Europe’s largest hotel operator. It will feature a supreme comfort and first-class services just an hour’s drive from Sofia. Its unique facilities include a conference center with a maximum capacity of 500 people, roof-top SPA and numerous F&B venues.

The championship golf course, designed by European Golf Design and Robin Hiseman, will be managed by IMG – a global leader in the golf industry. The ambition is for it to become a hub for both professional and amateur players. The Golf Academy is designed to be the best training facility in the country and aims to promote golf as a popular sport.

The complex will have a completely new infrastructure. It includes 21 km of new roads with sidewalks, pedestrian, bicycles lines and rich landscaping. Drinking water is provided from “Rilski vodoprovod” and water for irrigation needs is provided by the Iskar River. There will be two types of sewerage – separate for wastewater with 5 high-tech wastewater treatment plants and aboveground for rainwater, as well as a completely new electricity grid.

The main energy source is electricity.

OKOL Lake Park is a quiet contemporary “village” with no fencing or barriers at the entrance gates. Тhere will be security camera system and live patrols – by car, on foot and on horseback. Thus, security will be provided as discreet as possible, but as successfully as possible using state-of-the-art video surveillance techniques.

Creating an environment is key at OKOL Lake Park. Each house in the development is a unique reflection of the spirit and character of its residents, but all houses are in harmony as they are governed by a common urban design and architectural style.  In order to guarantee its promises, the investor does not offer the option of purchasing a plot on its own, and each house is exclusively designed by OKOL Lake Park’s leading architects and interior designers according to each client’s individual assignment.

There are detached and terraced houses available in OKOL Lake Park. The project is designed as a quiet contemporary “village” that residents inhabit year-round, rather than as a vacation complex. The overall environment is of prior importance at OKOL Lake Park and for this reason a comprehensive Construction Standard has been created. All properties are delivered in turn-key condition with a fully finished exterior, interior and landscape design. The properties cannot be purchased partly finished and no freehold plots are available. All houses are in a modern contemporary style, with flat roofs. The urban development parameters are Floor Area Ratio of about 0.3 and a maximum of two floors.

Due to the natural slope of the terrain, about 70% of the plots for custom houses have stunning views of the Iskar Lake, Rila Mountains and the Balkan range.

The type B houses and the terraced houses enjoy the spectacular sceneries of the Rila Mountains.

All the buildings are designed by the teams of architects, engineers and designers of the companies in Markan Holding AD. Architectural designs completed by other external companies cannot be executed in OKOL Lake Park.

The standard of the design and construction is clearly established and is being developed in line with the latest available technologies, contemporary materials and methodologies –

With minimum wet processes after the rough construction. Accordingly, it does not use the processes typical of standard construction – plasters, stucco & putties laying, painting work, etc. OKOL Lake Park’s construction concept has been developed to ensure high-quality building product with longer shelf life and easy maintenance.

All houses have a 10-year full warranty of all construction works, furniture and equipment.

Each house in OKOL Lake Park has a fully finished exterior design and landscaping of the yard with irrigation system.

Each house has fully completed interior design that could be executed either in Premium Standard or in Premium Plus.

The minimum level of completion of the interior “Premium Standard” including flooring or cladding on floors, walls and ceilings, installed interior doors, fixed furniture, completed and equipped bathrooms and toilets, completed and equipped kitchens with appliances, lightings in all rooms.

Optional, “Premium Plus” adds movable furniture, movable appliances and lighting fixtures, accessories, interior blinds, curtains, etc.

Optional, with additional cost estimation various elements can be included (including but not limited to): clear height in all premises above 10 feet (3.05 m), professional kitchen equipment, pool and pool equipment; Jacuzzi, movie theater, elevators, etc.

Find out more about the Construction Standard here.

All houses have a 10-year full warranty of all construction works, furniture and equipment.

In OKOL Lake Park “TBA” means area closed by four walls along the facade contour. TBA does not include covered parking places, porchways, terraces, etc. but the construction and installation works on them are cost estimated.

The main energy source is electricity. The heating and cooling are designed according to the specifics of the premises. The basic option in the Premium Standard includes a GREE Multi-split system. Optionally, with additional cost estimation, heat pump and floor heating may be executed – GREE, INNOVA, DAIKIN.

Type B houses are offered in a package price that includes the plot and the house, finished in Premium Plus (with movable furniture). The size of the plot does not affect the package price, which is final and including VAT.

Terraced houses are offered in a package price that includes the actual plot, the ideal parts of the plot and the house finished in Premium Plus (with movable furniture). The size of the actual plot does not affect the package price, which is final and including VAT.

Each custom designed house has an individual design and construction schedule that is tailored to the client’s requirements for building commissioning and the capabilities/assignments of OKOL Lake Park’s teams of architects and designers. The design and construction timeline for a custom house depends on its size. Design takes between 4 and 6 months and construction from site opening to commissioning takes between 11 and 14 months.

Type B houses and terraced houses have a fixed schedule for design, construction and building commissioning.

• 6000 EUR upon signing the Reservation Fee Agreement
• 20 € /sq. m TBA (Design fee) with approved 3D modeling (only custom houses)
• 20% Advance payment upon commencing construction work
• 50% Interim payment upon completion of rough construction
• 30% Final payment upon commissioning

Yes, you can purchase a property from us with your own funds as well as with a combination of your own funds and a bank loan. The OKOL Lake Park team provides assistance with mortgage loans with preferential terms from UBB.

After selecting a property, a Reservation Fee Agreement is signed to reserve the property and both parties declare their mutual desire to design a house according to the client’s assignment, the capabilities of the selected plot and the OKOL Lake Park Construction Standard.

After the client’s approval of the technical and interior design and the final budget, a Preliminary Contract is signed. The Preliminary Contract does not transfer title to the property. It commits to a future final contract in the form of a notary deed transferring ownership of the property.

Once the house has been commissioned and the final payment has been made, the Notary Deed is signed.

The ownership of the property is transferred after the conclusion of the Notary Deed. It is being concluded in the office of a notary whose area of operation coincides with that of the District Court of Samokov.

In addition to the local tax on the acquisition of property (which is 3% of the property price), the costs of completing the transaction include:

• Notarial fee for the issuance of the notary deed (calculated according to the price of the transaction)
• Notary fees for transcripts and reports (the amount is fixed)
• Fee for registration of the deed in the Registry Office – city of Samokov (0.1% of the transaction price)

Please note that there may be other costs involved in executing the notarial deed, e.g. costs related to establishing a mortgage in favor of your financing bank if you are purchasing the property through a bank loan.

The Center of OKOL Lake Park, located on 80 decars, following services will be provided:

• Kindergarten and school up till 7th grade, an affiliated of American-English Academy
• Medical center with emergency room and fast specialized transportation to Sofia
• Office area with co-working spaces
• Sports and adventure center with indoor and outdoor facilities, specialized instructors and sports equipment for the outdoor activities in the area
• Farmers market with small specialty shops offering fresh local produce
• Restaurants with Bulgarian and Mediterranean cuisine
• Many commercial services such as a bank office with ATM, pharmacy and drug store, laundry and dry cleaning, car wash, hair and beauty salon, etc.
• Additionally, the Farm will raise sheep, cows, horses and poultry. It will be operating as attraction farms as well, and children will be able to visit it for educational purposes. An Adventure Park with facilities for children such as Adventure Golf, Rope Park, small zip line etc. are also envision.
• Find out more about the additional services

A kindergarten will be opened in OKOL Lake Park already in the initial phase, and transport will be provided for students to the American-English Academy or to other schools in Sofia and Samokov.

As the number of residents grows, an elementary school, OKOL Park School, will be opened with a capacity of 340 students. The school will be a branch of the American-English Academy and will offer a bilingual program of education (in Bulgarian and English) with a range from pre-school group to 7th grade.

The medical care in the development will include a medical center with general practitioners, an emergency room and a telemedicine office. The medical center will be equipped with specialized transportation and will provide adequate emergency care and quick connection to the city’s healthcare infrastructure.

The overall environment at OKOL Lake Park will be maintained by a property management company organized by the Investor. It will provide services in two areas:

Mandatory, including security and safety, waste management, snow removal, maintenance of all streets, green areas and parks, sidewalk and hedge maintenance in front of the house.

Additional including concierge, house and yard cleaning, babysitting, pet care, delivery and transportation, car service and much more

The properties in OKOL Lake Park can benefit from various property management packages, the price of which will vary between 0.70-1.20 euro/sqm.

Find out more about the additional services here.