April 6, 2018 – Less than 18 months after stone boulders came crashing down in a residential area in a little over-enthusiastic dynamiting in Hvar Town, a new addition to the Hvar waterfront.
Hvar has a reputation as being one of the most difficult places in Croatia to build. For those who want to preserve the island’s beauty, this is a great thing, while for those who want to construct hotels and other tourist infrastructure, it is of course a little frustrating. Indeed, despite millions of square metres of building (and non-building) land changing hands over the years, there has been no significant legal construction in the 15 years I have been here – apart from the ill-fated Male Rudine villas, the largest completed legal projects have been a couple of villas and blocks of 12 apartments.
You need to look no further than one of the biggest names in global hospitality to realise that things are just not that easy on Hvar. Despite Minister of Tourism Cappelli publicly endorsing the Four Seasons Brizenica Bay project last year, with an opening date of 2019 announced, the project still does not have a construction permit. Brizenica Bay is a little further ahead than those Norwegian chaps in Sucuraj, whose 80,000m2 Nikki Beach Resort is still not in their ownership a mere 11 years after signing purchase contracts back in 2007.
But it would be wrong to give the impression that it is impossible to build on Hvar, for that is not true. Less than 18 months after we reported on a how a part of the stone hill close to Hotel Podstine in Hvar Town was cleared by dynamite to make way for a construction plot, causing the road to be blocked and damage to at least one house (read about it here), a shiny new villa has appeared on the Hvar waterfront.
A unique and obviously very effective approach. We trust the view towards the sea from the villa is better than the one looking at the scarred hillside behind it.
