Lekursi Hill Land with Planning for Village Resort Saranda

More about this property

Panoramic, 14 hectares building land with planning permission, located next to Lekures Castle (Lekursi Hill) in Saranda. The site is overlooking the entire coastline from Saranda all the way to Corfu, Ksamil and Butrinti Lake.

The land is with full planning permission for 136 stone build villas and a hotel in a historical site. Asking price is 180 USD (140 Euro) per square meter.

Site and morphology

The Lekursi hill is situated in the South-Eastern part of Saranda city, Albania, in a height varying from 240 - 260m above sea level, and facing towards the sea.

The Lekures hill does comprise of two half-softly inclined hills, connected with each-other by a pass-road. On one of the hills (the highest one, which is 260m above the sea level), is situated the Lekures Castle, an ottoman fortification build from Sultan Suleymani The Great, around the year 1535, during his campaign for conquering/taking of Corfu; the other hill, about 15-20m lower, are situated the ruins of the Lekursi village, destroyed and abandoned at the beginning of the Balcanic wars.

The hills are not very steep and are mostly without trees or bushes and in the best case, they have been used only as pastures, because the ground is rocky (limestone which has been used also as building material for the village, for the castle, as well as for the military cantonment situated here until lately).

The distance of the village from the sea (in vertical projection) is not more than 500-550m, by road it is approximately 2 kilometres.

Access and Panorama

The site is accessible from the Gjashta Pass, East of Saranda, shortly before the entrance to the city, through a small road leading all the way to the top of the hills, three to four minutes away, which offers a rare panorama in Albania, unspoiled views:

• North:  Paleochristian Monastery of the 40 Saints
• North-East: Antique city of Finiq (Foinike)
• East:  Byzantine Church of Mesopotamia at a distance
• South-East: Village of Metoq and the Vurgu field
• South:  Butrinti Lake and the Ksamil Peninsula
• South-West: Corfu Island and sea channel
• West:   Overlooking Ionnian Sea
• North-East: Saranda Bay with the promenade and the port

The road to the hill has been asphalted by the Castle investors. The road continues further on the right for around 200m to the Castle, and on the left are situated the ruins of the village where actually there is no infrastructure and on which has never been laid hand on, except for its exploitation as a stone quarry.

Planning and Zoning of the Touristic Ensemble

The ENSEMBLE, meaning the Village and the Castle, will be situated on the traces of the existing village, in order to preserve its spatial composition, the development will have approximately 140.000 m2 or around 14 hectares land.

The zonal-functional separation is as following:

1. Service and Support Zone, which will contain:
   • Reception – Information
   • Touristic Guide
   • Post office
   • Service zone with social and entertainment character
2. Restaurant, Piano Bar
   • Panoramic Viewpoint
   • Wine Cellar and degustation point
3. Museum and Historical zone
   • History of Lekures and the surrounding Zone
   • Documentation Centre (photos, videos, books, etc.)
4. Tourist Accommodation Zone
   • Group villas
   • Individual villas
   • Mini-terrace and Pergola
5. Parking Zone
   • Covered parking
   • Temporary and transit parking
   • Control point for supply and services to vehicles
6. Sports Zone
   • Open green fields with children games
   • Sports fields for tennis, basketball, etc.

Besides the Lekures Castle which has been implemented for touristic purposes, the Ensemble consists also in the nearby village which will be recuperated.

It is thus foreseen the building of around 90 accommodation units (90 detached, terraced or semi detached villas), besides the units with social and recreation character and the necessary and different services for community life, as it is presented in this village, the closest organic link is the Castle of Lekures (around 150 – 200m further North).

The practical articulation of the functions of the Touristic Ensemble in the concrete terrain, regarding their extent and development, will be as following:

A. THE CASTLE OF LEKURES

The Castle, as the first phase of intervention in this Ensemble, has been completed and the service settings are in realization:

1. The Reception
2. The parking for cars and buses
3. The main show hall
4. Restaurant and bar
5. Service settings

B. THE VILLAGE OF LEKURES

1. Reception Centre, with the box for receiving the tourists, the information desk, the change office and a small cash register, the touristic guide and postal and telephone service.
2. The administrative centre, with the offices of the management and staff, health services, accommodation of the personnel (independent mini-zone).
3. Museum and Historical Centre, which will be a representative site that can be visited, with information materials of all kinds and a data archive for the surrounding zone.
4. The social services centre, which can also be articulated in two mini-centers, in the two extremities of the village, which will contain the main social services for the vacationers, like restaurants, piano bar, discotheque, etc.
5. The maintenance service point, with mixed functions and with laundry, accessories, furniture maintenance, small carpentry, hydro-sanitary equipment, electrical service, storage, etc.
6. Vehicles service point, fast check point, tire repair, sale of basic materials, water, battery change, etc.
7. Parking zone, with pergola covered parking and parking places assigned according to the residence, open parking for transit and temporary stay.
8. Panoramic viewpoint, bar, kiosks, belvedere and spyglass viewpoints.
9. Accommodation units, which will be around 90 detached, semi-detached and terraced villas, accommodating approximately 380 people or beds. The connection between them will be done through stone paved paths and partly granulated stone (below cycling paths), amidst green fields with mainly autochthonous plants.
10. Water point, represented by a swimming-pool for the vacationers with recreation spaces and small services.

Regarding the morphological characteristics of the building materials, it is mandatory to use stone, wood, beaten iron, stone slabs, ceramic, etc., according to the traditional ways of the seaside Konispol villages.