A place in the sun - or the snow?
A place in the sun - or the snow?A French developer has the answer for would-be second home-buyers who cannot decide whether they want a place in the sun or the snow.
MGM, which has a UK office in London’s Regent Street, is planning three new residential developments in the historic and picturesque lakeside town of Annecy.
Located in the foothills of the Alps in the Haute-Savoie region of France, it is as popular as a centre for summer holidays and watersports as it is among skiers seeking a base only 30 minutes by road from winter sports resorts like Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz.
With construction work well underway on the scheme announced by MGM last year - Le Domaine de Saint Laurent, comprising 100 apartments in Annecy-le-Vieux, five minutes by car from the centre of Annecy itself - the company has unveiled plans for two further developments, one of them close to the edge of Lake Annecy, said to be the cleanest lake in Europe.
Occupying what agents describe as “one the most desirable locations in Annecy,” Les Jardins du Lac will comprise seven apartments in the same contemporary style as an earlier lakeside development by MGM in nearby Avenue d’Albigny. They range from a two-bedroom apartment with a floor area of 84 sq m to a 124 sq metre four-bedroom penthouse on two floors beneath a glass roof.
When they are ready for occupation at the end of this year, all the apartments will have spacious balconies or terraces, many with views of the lake and mountains. The lakeside promenade in front of the building provides a five-minute traffic-free level walk to the town centre.
Prices of the apartments at Les Jardins du Lac range from €620,000 for a two-bedroom home to €1.6 million for the penthouse.
A few minutes away from Les Jardins du Lac, MGM is planning Villa Marine, another contemporary new development of 24 apartments in three buildings. More than half already have been sold off-plan. Construction work is due to start later this year and the target completion date is December, 2008.
The two-and three-bedroom apartments will have floor areas ranging from 65 sq m to 92 sq m. They are available for sale off-plan at prices starting at €408,000.
Apartments in both these developments come with underground parking and cellar storage space.
Yet to be announced by MGM are plans for other schemes in Annecy, including a further 20 apartments on a site earmarked for redevelopment in Annecy.
Meanwhile work is on schedule at Le Domaine du St Laurent where the apartments are being created within 11 two- and three-storey buildings set in three hectares (7.4 acres) of landscaped gardens with a communal pool.
The apartments range in size from studios with a floor area of 35 sq metres - all of which have been sold off-plan - to four-bedroom duplexes of 124 sq metres. All of them have a terrace or balcony, underground parking and cellar storage which includes a ski locker.
The properties have been designed by MGM to reflect local architectural traditions. The Savoyard style buildings are finished externally with timber facades. Inside they feature oak doors and finishes with tiled floors throughout.
Prices of the remaining properties at Le Domaine du St Laurent range from €300,000 for a two-bedroom apartment to €797,000 for a four-bedroom home, but they are set to rise soon as availability becomes more limited, predicts MGM’s London-based sales consultant Richard Deans.
He says that, when first new homes are ready for occupation in the summer of 2008, owners could expect to achieve a monthly rental income in the region of €1,000 for a two-bedroom apartment.
Although Annecy is a 40 minute drive from Geneva Airport, the journey time is set to be halved when a new motorway link opens in 2009. The town is around three hours by TGV from Paris and its Eurostar rail link with London.
“In my view, this is the ultimate year-round location, enjoying warm summers with a huge range of water sports on the lake, a wide variety of Alpine ski slopes within easy reach in the winter, and lovely walks in the spring and autumn,” says Richard.
The appeal of the area around Lake Annecy - which is more than 14 km long - spans thousands of years. Archaeologists have found remains of a waterfront settlement near Annecy-le-Vieux dating back to 3100 BC.
Activities on offer locally today range from hiking, cycling and mountain biking to sailing, windsurfing, parasailing and swimming.
In surveys Annecy consistently features as one of the most desirable places to live in France. Flower-filled in summer, the town is a cultural centre hosting festivals, conferences, exhibitions and theatrical performances throughout the year, so there is good scope for both short-term lets and holiday rentals, as well as capital growth, says Richard.
MGM, which has built an enviable reputation for the homes it has built in Alpine ski resorts for more than 40 years and, more recently, on the Cote d’Azur, says Annecy offers ‘the best of both worlds’ to British second-home buyers.
Underlining the fact that people love to live and work in the enchanting old world town with its mediaeval cobbled street and ‘Little Venice’ canal network, restaurants and cafes, as well as antiques fairs and weekend food markets, is the news that MGM is to consolidate its business operations by relocating its head office from Chamonix to Annecy.
“The town is to play a significant role in the long-term development of MGM’s business so it makes sense for the company to be based there,” explains Richard.
All of the MGM properties in Annecy are available for outright purchase and are not available through the leaseback scheme which operates in some areas of France. For more information about the properties MGM is building in Annecy, visit mgm-constructeur.com.
