BREATHE LIFE BACK IN TO A CRETAN VILLAGE

We have a Greek friend who is from the quiet and beautiful village of Kato Paros. Kato Paros is near to Argiroupolis / Lappa and is only 10 minutes from the beach. Sotiris is a builder who was originally born in Kato Paros before leaving for Athens when he was 8 years old. He now lives with his wife and family quite near to us in Almyrida; however, he still has one property and some land in Kato Paros. He spends time in ‘his village’ nearly every week. There are spectacular views wherever you go in this area.

SOME MOUNTAIN VIEWS IN THE AREA

              Distant Views of Lapa                                                      Yes -  there really is a church here!                                               Looking Inland

Although very beautiful and with a great taverna which is full at weekends, the village of Kato Paros is not growing and Sotiris and some of the younger villagers feel that ‘new life’ should be attracted to this area. In an attempt to do this he will be the first villager to offer his land at a very reasonable cost so that some tasteful and appropriate stone houses can be built for new people to come, enjoy and use the village amenities. To live there or have a number of visitors / guests use the house would be ideal.

This is an opportunity to help design and build some stone houses to your taste in this village. If this project is a success then a few other villagers will do something similar with their land and the village will continue to thrive again because of the inward investment.

Initially Sotiris will build just two houses on his site of approximately 3500m². The houses will be built from local stone and the external walls will be 50cm thick. Because we will build in this traditional way, the building authority will give us extra building permission and they will be equivalent to houses of more than 120m² if they were built conventionally.

The design intent will be for two 2 -3 (as the customers require) bed roomed houses with large living areas. They will be built to a high standard and two stone houses will share this large plot. If the owners agree, there will also be a shared pool a short distance from the houses. Owners will be able to influence the design of the houses.

There are wonderful views over the village, across the valley to the sea. There are some large old Olive trees on the plot which will be retained.

PLOT PHOTOS

                Entrance to the plot                                                     From the plot                                                                  Looking in at the plot

The plot is on the edge of the village and is a short stroll (200metres) from the kafenion/taverna. The kafenion/taverna is a very friendly place - sit inside or out. Over the years customers have left many poems and messages all over the inside walls - it's quite a unique place. In the summer you must book a table if you want to eat on a Sunday afternoon.

KAFENION PHOTOS

  The location is very quiet and peaceful but is only a few minutes’ drive from the tavernas at the springs at Argiroupolis and the fantastic old village at the Lappa site. In addition, the sandy beaches of Giorgioupolis bay are only 10 minutes drive away. The centre of Rethymno is also about 15 minutes from Kato Paros. Below are photos of the beach that awaits you when you drive down the hill.

BEACH PHOTOS

 The design of the houses can be agreed this summer and be available by late next summer.

A large 3 bed stone house with a shared pool on this plot of 3600m² will cost €275,000 plus fees and taxes - dependent on the fixtures and fittings which are selected by the owners. This cost is based on standard costs for tiles, bathroom fittings etc. If owners want marble floors and solid gold taps, then this may be a little extra. We believe this is a great price either as a home / second home or as an investment (say) for rental.

Please contact us for further details.

This cost is based on villas similar to the ones below which were built by Sotiris near his current family home some 20 kilometres away from Kato Paros.

The 3Ds below show two types of houses and both are ‘stone houses’ with stone walls 50cm thick. Type B has been plastered over most of the external stonework – as the owners requested. The internal designs are for 2 and 3 bedrooms as required by the owners. The sauna he built in the type B house was extra! These are just typical examples.

ORIGINAL 3D IMAGES

FINISHED HOUSES

 The images above are of the finished product - which look better than the original 3Ds! The costs above do not include landscaping of the plot. The plot will be left walled/fenced (as it's is now) to keep out animals. The plot will be left clean and ‘natural’ but not ‘planted/landscaped (other than the existing trees etc). There will be paths around the houses and there will be path to the pool and a sitting area around the pool.

The Photos below are taken inside the village with its lovely narrow stone covered streets and show the diverse types of houses and the pretty location. There are already a few French and other North European owners of existing houses in the village. The google map will show you exactly where the village is. If you look on Google Earth be sure to check out the Panoramio photos of Argiroupolis!

Please contact us as we can provide more details of potential floor plans, topographs of the land and we can provide details of the area including Argiroupolis.