Construction, Estonia, Legislation, Real Estate

The Tartu-based company acquired the plot of the former School No 7 at the address Raudsilla 1 from the Narva city government for 330,000 euros in the summer of 2016. Under the agreement with the city government, the company committed to invest 3.1 million euros in stages into the land plot offering views on the border river and the castles of Narva and Ivangorod, Russia.

The sale and purchase agreement names the construction of an apartment building as the purpose of the project.

Aivar Tuulberg, co-owner of AS Vallikraavi Kinnisvara, told Pohjarannik that the former school building has been demolished by now and a detailed planning procedure is under way, which may take several years because of the complexity of the location.

"It is a riverbank limited management zone, which means that many approvals are required. Usually the detailed planning procedure of a plot situated in a complex location takes three years," Tuulberg said, adding that an additional couple of years may be needed for paperwork.

Tuulberg described the real estate market of Narva as an anomaly, as unlike in other cities of Estonia, not a single brand new apartment house has been built there since the country regained its independence.

"No bank will help us here, we must complete this construction on our own. Therefore it's important for us to do everything in stages and to keep an eye on the situation," the businessman said.