A local property developer has proposed to make over a sizeable stretch of Sofia's Cherni Vrah boulevard, rerouting traffic under the street level and building an underground shopping mall and two high-rises with 24 and 35 floors.

The 65 mln euro project is devised by Joint Building Investment, a construction company that has completed several residential and office developments in Sofia. According to Joint Building Investment owner Rumen Markov, German funds, U.S. corporations and local commercial banks are interested in the project. Sofia chief architect Petar Dikov recently said the project could be implemented under a 35-year concession arrangement. The Joint Building Investment project design incorporates 3 underground and one above ground levels. The public subway system will occupy the bottom level. A 4-lane two-way street will be built on the next level. The last underground level will comprise a 40,000 sq m shopping mall. The section of the Cherni Vrah that overlaps with the underground infrastructure will become a pedestrian area. The implementation timeframe for the project is seen at 21 months. The developer hopes the Sofia municipality will review the project by the end of 2006.