Meliá Hotels International is continuing on its development path throughout the Mediterranean and aims to take advantage of growth opportunities in Albania. After beginning its expansion plan in the country in 2017, Meliá has now announced its fourth hotel: the Sol Dürres Hotel, located in the second most important city in the country and one of its key tourism development centres. The company expects to open the hotel next year, and this will then be followed by the opening of three additional hotels: the Meliá Dürres, the Meliá Tirana and a third hotel in Dürres under the INNSiDE by Meliá brand. The company thus intends to introduce three of its brands and position itself as one of the leading international hotel operators in the country. 

Albania remains a dynamic real estate market, growing in both the retail and office sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic had a definite impact in the first quarter of 2020, but with the ease of the quarantine restrictions, the real estate market picked up and recorded higher than usual transaction volumes, particularly in the residential sector. Colliers Albania published its top 5 predictions for the Albanian property market in 2021.

Construction has started on the Pyramid of Tirana, the brutalist monument in the heart of Albania’s capital city. Rotterdam-based architectural studio MVRDV's design will see this crucial heritage building, once the showpiece of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, dramatically renovated. The concrete structure will be reused, the atrium and its surroundings greened and opened, and a small village of cafes, studios, workshops, and classrooms – where Albanian youth will learn various technology subjects for free – will permeate the site, both inside and outside the pyramid itself. The Pyramid is thus expected to become a new hub for Tirana's cultural life and a carrier for the new generation.

The Downtown One project has been awarded a LEED Precertification on the Gold level. It is the first building in Albania to be LEED precertified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The precertification process was advised by Colliers International Albania and the Colliers International Poland Green Building Advisor Team lead by Andrzej Gutowski.

Advised by Colliers International’s UK Hospitality Asset Management team and the local Colliers office in Albania, Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced a management agreement with Kastrati Hotels & Tower for the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Albania.

Strong economic growth, booming tourism and increasing construction activity characterise one of the least well-known markets of the CEE/SEE region. Total office stock in the capital barely exceeds 100,000 sqm, which results in one of the highest rental fees in the region. The situation is, however, about to change as new mixed-use projects of higher quality should increase the pressure on landlords. Stela Dhami, Managing Partner at Colliers International shared us her positive outlook on the Albanian market.

Albanian company Balfin Group has acquired a 155 000 sqm plot of land, 1.5 km from the centre of Skopje. The company plans to develop the first mixed-used real-estate development project in excess of 250,000 sqm gross build area, estimated to be largest private investment of this type in Macedonia. The development plans include a new 45 000 sqm gross leasable area shopping mall, residential block and an office park. The overall total investment of the company is planned to be circa €180 million over a time-span of 5-7 years, with €100 million investment in first phase, creating thousands of new jobs and opportunities. The company states that the shopping mall will be developed first, and the apartments and office towers over the next 5-7 years.

Would you have thought that many well know luxury brands have opened stores in Tirana before entering Budapest? This is especially interesting considering the fact that Hungary has a retail stock of 1.3 million square metres compared to 205 thousand square metres in Albania. Through our questions, Stela Dhami, Managing Partner at Colliers International Albania is introducing the property market of a country that is usually off the radar.