Rich Ghettos: How Is Life In Gated Communities For The Wealthy? | ENDEVR Documentary

In this luxury car are Courtney and her husband Norman, a television producer. The couple are looking for a new house for them and their future children. They have a very big budget, six million dollars, and a new close friend, Kristen, their estate agent. So let's jump on a golf cart. Kristen fully intends on wowing them today. This is a beautiful 10,000 square foot home that's on the market for 5.5 million. So let's go take a look. Perfect. It's this huge mansion, 900 square meters across three levels. It's very high end. Okay, so the kitchen is super open, great concept, has abundant appliances. And Kristen has another selling point, the views over Las Vegas. Courtney is a huge fan. So what do you think, babe? These views are just breathtaking. I love the views and I love how open it is. I think it's just beautiful. Well, let's go look and see what else. The mansion has a vast array of luxury features and a master suite, which is completely opened up to the outside. Imagine Saturday morning, waking up, opening this up, and just enjoying the view with some coffee. Absolutely a great way to wake up. The couple are already picturing themselves living here and the bathroom. Look at this marble. Oh, and there's a TV. And the huge dressing room will definitely win over Courtney, who seems to be loving it here already. I love this. I love when they have the center piece. It's so nice. You can lay out all your stuff. If she likes it, I'm happy. Happy wife, happy life. This whole closet will be mine and he can take the guest closet. And the showstopper. So you've got this beautiful infinity pool overlooking the strip. Norman and Courtney seem spellbound. The view and the luxury, of course. But that's not all. They have visited this mansion because it is located in a gated community, a secure estate, a private property with forbidden access to non-residents, and extreme security. We've got two entrances. They're both guard gated 24 hours a day. We have two guards at each station. And then we also have road security. That's 24 hours. Security is precisely what inhabitants in gated communities are looking for. Norman and Courtney are no exception. Living in a gated community is a high priority in our lives. And we're not interested in looking at houses outside of the community. No. Just because we travel and I like knowing that there's a guard at the front. I don't have to worry about my home. The couple will also be able to make the most of a large number of luxurious facilities. Is there a fitness facility or Pilates or anything like that on this property? Yes. So in addition to the clubhouse, we have a whole tennis and athletic center. Oh, wow. And there's basketball courts. The whole fitness center has massage and spa and a great Pilates studios with tons of reformers and great equipment. Top of the line. Oh, that is so exciting. I like that. I love that. Americans are opting for these gated communities more and more. But they aren't the only ones. More and more, these secure estates are appearing across the globe and are shaping new residences of the future. Gated communities. They are the new housing trend. Entire private neighborhoods under high protection, sometimes spanning several hundreds of hectares and generally reserved for the super rich. This is our most expensive lot that we have in McDonald Highlands. It's on the market for 6.3 million dollars. So just for the lot? Just for the lot. Residents here live a life of luxury, which is very exclusive and difficult to attain without lots of money. Other people, you know, it's a little bit more quiet. You don't have to fight for your machines. In America, in certain states, almost half of new constructions are in gated communities. Seen as ghettos for the rich, the residences here are self-segregated from the outside world. It's an upscale community, so the people have the money to do a lot of extracurricular things, to travel, to play sports, you know, golf. What is it we enjoy doing? This trend of self-segregation is also developing in France among celebrities and the richest in society. Like Villa Montmorency, which is home to small gems within the heart of Paris, or Parc de Montretout, the oldest gated community in Saint-Cloud in the Paris region. But the peace and security of these areas are now attracting more modest social classes, which can sometimes create conflict in certain neighborhoods. Barriers in the middle of town, which the neighbors now have to make their way around. For several years, these unusual housing estates have been constructed in other countries, like Bulgaria, where the most well-off are trading often dilapidated buildings in favor of secure, detached houses. Behind the scenes, businessmen have sniffed out the huge market opportunity and are ready to profit from any opportunity. For several months, we managed to infiltrate these extremely closed-off ghettos for the rich, an investigation into the golden prisons behind these fences, which tower like never before. Las Vegas, located in Nevada, in the U.S. This city is best known for its big hotels, casinos, slot machines, and luxury hotels. And its overall wow factor. It attracts 36 million visitors each year. However, it's not just tourists here in the middle of the desert. There are almost 600,000 people who live in Las Vegas year-round. It's, in fact, the most populated city in Nevada. Yet on a daily basis, the locals often want to escape all this excitement to live a calmer life far from the strip. So a gated community is the perfect option. At McDonald Highlands, one of the largest and most luxurious residential neighborhoods in the city, round-the-clock security is the number one priority. Here, the 1,500 residents have an electronic beeper which grants them easy entry. But the cleaners, gardeners, and workers are forced to sit in a traffic jam each morning and are required to show their IDs. Pull up a little bit more. All right, there's good. And like all mornings, it's Billy who screens the visitors. Driver's license, sir, and your company. First, each employee must state the address they're visiting. He's going to the view, which is parcel 18. So I type in parcel 18, Silver Lake, right up top. So we just click on Silver Lake, admit. The entry condition is that you must be on the list of guests established by the owners, a list which Billy accesses from his miniature computer. But that's not all. He's still going to take additional precautions. Put in your license plate number, 03E604. I scan their ID. Makes it a lot faster. Make sure the picture comes out nice and clear. For each visitor, Billy registers the car's license plate number and scans their driving license before issuing this pass. Prepare the pass and the ID at the same time. It's data collection taken to the extreme, unthinkable in Europe. And when visitors aren't on the pre-established guest list, Billy takes no risks and calls the residents directly. Hi, it's Billy at the Stephanie Gate. I have Raphael Construction here working with Giberti Construction for you. All right, they're doing the remodel work over there. Do you want me to put them on for two weeks or just call you every day? Two weeks. These tedious controls have just one goal, protecting the private neighborhood's rich residents. The people who live in here are worth a lot of money. We have people who run major corporations. We have a few celebrities, some pro football players, basketball players, baseball players. And they don't want people coming in here, paparazzis and taking pictures and driving around the community when they're not supposed to be here. That's the purpose of living in a gated community. They want their privacy. So it's a secure and private life for residents and a full screening for visitors. Welcome to the McDonald Highlands neighborhood. Behind these fences, over 1,500 people lead a peaceful life out of sight in a neighborhood that feels like the epitome of luxury. 400 hectares designed around an 18-hole golf course with a view over the strip. 500 high-class houses worth up to $20 million, a swimming pool, a gym, tennis courts, and even a private club with a bar and two restaurants. A small village in the middle of the desert where Ken, CEO of a large construction firm in Nevada and his wife, Michelle, live. They've lived here for 10 years and every day make the most of their gated community. It's a beautiful morning. Their day begins at sunrise with a morning sports session. There's no need to leave their secure neighborhood for there's a private fitness center reserved just for residents right by their house. How are you? Good to see you. Good to see you guys. Good morning, Alex. Good. You guys ready? Ready. Don't kill us. Three times a week, they call on Alex, their personal trainer, who can be hired from the gated community for $50 an hour. On the agenda today is boxing, weightlifting, and some other strenuous exercises. But Michelle and Ken love coming to train here in this private fitness suite. Usually, if you're in a regular workout room, there's a lot of people. And if you're doing sets, you might have to wait for a machine in the middle of your set, which is an inconvenience. A semi-deserted fitness center, personal trainers on call, and that's not all. At 8 a.m., Michelle's sporting day has barely even begun. After a romantic workout, Ken leaves for work. As for Michelle, she has changed clothes. Morning. She meets up with her friends for a game of tennis, still within the gated community. First, they hit some balls with a coach, before playing a doubles match. They're in the fitness center with her husband, the next, hitting balls with her friends. Good get, Marty. Michelle, who is a housewife, doesn't have time to get bored. Thanks to her gated community, she's doing activities nonstop. Good job. Nice job, lady. All right, that's it, girls. Thank you. Appreciate it. A few hours later, she's in her third outfit of the day, this time for an all-female golf tournament organized that afternoon, just a few meters away from her home. Just across the street. It's the middle of the week, yet there's a crowd, made up of just the housewives living here. And they have not only come to learn how to play golf. I will definitely meet new people here because there's a lot of people here that I don't know. This is what you were expecting? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just gives you an opportunity to know more people. Quite rightly, Michelle needs to find a partner for this round of golf. It will be this lady, Natalie. She also lives in the neighborhood. The two women didn't know each other before, but they've already found something in common. I am really a beginner. My husband's like, you gotta get golfing. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna get going. Perfect. So this is why we're here. Two beginners who share a few holes and end up getting to know each other. My babies are 23. I have twin boys. Are they nervous that your kids are? No. One of my youngest just graduated from UNR and is moving to South Carolina. One in Houston, one in Utah, and one in California. Socializing, doing sport, meeting new people, all without ever having to leave the gated community. Michelle cannot see herself living anywhere else. You will live somewhere else than inside the gated community? No, not anymore. Just because when you live in a gated community, you're ensured there isn't going to be a lot of noise. Everything, the landscaping, the roads, the lighting, everything will be kept up. There's a little bit more security. And then you have all these amenities. So why would I live anywhere else? I don't think I would. And even in the evening, Michelle and Ken never have to go far to meet for a drink. This is the residence's bar, an opportunity to spend time with other members of the estate, Ken and Michelle's neighbors. Did you learn anything? No. I'm going to get better. Acquaintances or friends who clearly share the couple's interests. Charlotte did a great job at the polo match. And we're ready to go. When is the next polo match? A year from now, but you're both going to be... We have plenty of time for hats. Rather elitist sports and confidence in lucrative investments. I wasn't going to build it. It's up for $7.99 million. Here, you can talk about big money without taboo. For in this luxury residence, all neighbors have the same living standard. They are business heads, investors, or high level sports people. High powered people who clearly do not want to mix with ordinary people. If the people that live around you aren't able to do the things that you can do, then you either don't do the things you want to do and you stay home or you find people who are like-minded, who are at a same level of financial security, I guess you'd say, that can afford to do some of the extra things in life that we enjoy doing. And that's what we find here is most of the people here can afford to go on a vacation or can afford to take a tennis lesson or take up golf. There's an instilled sense of self-seclusion, but to live here, co-owners must sign this document upon arrival. Internal rules, which are very strict and six pages long. Among the instructions are, it is forbidden for children under 14 to walk around alone. Skateboards and scooters are prohibited. No noise after 10 p.m. during the week or midnight on Saturdays. And houses must respect very precise specifications subject to a committee. And we will see that the owners are not interested in breaking these rules. Year-round, the McDonald Highlands neighborhood employs 80 people, including gardeners in charge of maintaining the green spaces and security guards. And among them are Paul and Lisa, employees at the Association of Property Owners. They have a very specific task in the community, making sure that the houses are well taken care of down to the last detail. Once a month, they go around the estate to report any offenses committed by the property owners. Don't expect huge crimes. Here, they put right the tiniest issues. The first offense of the day, Christmas decorations. In the middle of May, it seems trivial, but it is banned. So for these lights in particular, there's a written rule that says you have a certain amount of days before and after the holiday to put up your traditional lighting, then you gotta take it back down. It might be 30 days before and 30 days after the holiday that you're allowed to do temporary lighting. Lisa takes photos to send to the owners of this house with a letter asking them to take the decorations down. If it is not done within three months, they will have to pay a fine. It depends on the infraction. For these type of violations, for property maintenance, they assess fines of $50 every seven days. So we can't assess a fine more than $100 every seven days. The fines range between 50 and $100 every week until the problem is resolved. You can get him a letter note. He's gonna take his lights down. And that's the case for all kinds of small offenses, like damaged fences. Yeah, this one's really rusted out. Dead palm tree leaves. Palm fronds that need to be removed at this property. A hole in the wall. There's that hole in the wall they haven't fixed yet. In total that morning, these aesthetics police have reported a dozen offenses. If all the properties are kept looking nice, it helps maintain the value of your own property. So yes, it's just aesthetics and it's not a big deal, but it's a response to people who had neighbors who wouldn't take care of things that aren't a big deal. They choose to live in an association area and they choose to live in a gated communities. The residents have accepted these strict rules. They've even got themselves a highway patrol to keep an eye on them. Not far away, the car patrols all day long. Larry, who's 71, is the most senior member of the employees and head of security. You gotta try not to block things. This sheriff-like employee takes his role very seriously. He rules over a network of several dozen kilometers of private streets. You need to move your truck on the other side. He spends his day ensuring that the residents and employees respect the rules. And the rules are parking is sidewalk side. Once you get your equipment unloaded, I need you to be over here. How about I just park in her car? That's fine, thanks. A small reminder, but Larry does not settle for playing good cop. A few meters ahead, he settles down to do a speed control. And to do that, he draws out his fatal weapon, a mobile radar and bit of patience. In the community, speed is limited to 20 miles an hour. This white car is driving at 33 miles an hour. The offense is noted, but there will not be a pursuit so as not to disturb the neighborhood. However, Larry will get all information about the offender with a simple phone call. Yeah, Jane. He calls the people who register all of the information on those who enter the community. You have a white Focus with California plates come through? Remember, as a security measure, the driver's ID, the number plate, and the model of her car are recorded on entry. As a result, Larry's colleague has all the necessary information. Who is she again? Christina Alvarado. The name, address, license plate number, all you need to send a fine to this housemaid. She does not live in the community. However, she will not escape this completely legal fine. Got it. Okay. The cost of this fine is $40 and residents can also be charged. Would you like to live here? No. Why? I don't like to be told what to do. That's me personally. You like to tell people what they have to do, but you don't have to. Why do you think I'm the boss? Rules that must be followed to the letter and a few extra charges. In order to live in this community, you have to pay. All of these security guards, activities, infrastructure, maintaining 400 hectares and a pleasant green golf course in the middle of the desert, it all costs a lot of money. So you're paying the bills? Michelle and Ken, like all of the other residents, are co-owners of the common spaces. So to maintain everything, they pay fees to the co-owners association each month. The first bill is $340 per month for maintaining communal areas and security. Next, Ken and Michelle have a $300 monthly subscription to enjoy the sports facilities. And still... It is required to be a member or to have a membership when you buy a house in the neighborhood. This $300 membership is compulsory and it's not the only expense demanded by McDonald Highlands. So then at the club, we have a food and beverage minimum that we have to spend. It is $300 per quarter and so we have to either eat at the club and spend our $300 on food there or... If you don't spend it, they'll charge you that anyways. In total, each month, they must spend at least $740 and the same goes for all 500 homeowners. So each year McDonald Highlands collects $4.5 million to look after everything. More than 10 million Americans have chosen this way of life. But the U.S. isn't the only place where these gated communities exist. The concept has even been around in France since the 19th century. The first gated communities were created here in the Paris region. The oldest is the Parc de Montretout on Paris' higher land. Napoleon III was its first resident, a century before the Le Pen family and now an Oscar-winning actor. In the center of Paris, many industry tycoons and showbiz stars live in the famous Villa Montmorency in the 16th arrondissement or in the newest gated community, the Villa Grenelle in the 7th arrondissement. But in France, you no longer need to be extremely rich to live behind fences. In the south of France, Marseille holds the record number of gated communities. Attractions like the Old Port, the Basilica and the Velodrome make it a nice place to live. But the Mediterranean town is also one of serious violence, drug dealing and is the capital of organized crime. In 40 years, more than 1,500 gated communities have been built in Marseille. In the 9th arrondissement, a residential area is Coin Joli. Although it's not a high luxury community, four years ago, in a general meeting, the co-owners voted for the area to be closed off with eight fences. Now, there are around 100 homes there which are often stylish but far from the huge American-style mansions. However, here too, access is forbidden to strangers and to cameras as well. We attempt nevertheless to understand why these co-owners want to close off their community. Robberies, antisocial behavior. This is what must have pushed the residents to close themselves off. Marseille's 9th arrondissement, however, is not known for its crime. So, could there perhaps be other reasons which led them to put up fences? For Julien Dario, a geographical researcher who specializes in gated communities in Marseille, security could, in fact, just be an excuse. No more need to share parking spaces calmer less traffic in short, improving life's comfort as well as security. But how were the Coint-Joli residents able to close off an entire neighborhood? To understand, let's go to the Emarseille University with Julien Dario, the researcher. After five years of field work, he knows the town and its gated communities like the back of his hand. And in red, it's going to be the closed residential areas. So, it's all the areas with the most housing with the closed community areas. So, pedestrians, vehicles, etc. We're back to 1,500, but the figures date back to around 2014. So, today, it's probably more. 1,500 gated communities in Marseille. That's almost 15% of the land. In 50 years, fenced-off areas have multiplied in Marseille, completely legally, for certain areas were already private, built since the 30s by developers at the town's request following a housing emergency. So, decades later, the residents are entitled to do this. So, it's not a private way. If you want to build a gate in front of your private path, nothing can stop you from building a gate in front of your house. The problem is that it's not in front of your house. It's not a small stone pathway to your house. It's going to be routes that are used by people to go to school, to bring the children to school, to go to the hospital, to take the bus. And that might pose a little more problems than your private path. However, the procedure is relatively simple, a request to the mayor, which is usually granted, since in France, property rights are unrestricted. Lionel Royer-Perrault is the mayor of the 9th and 10th Arrondissements in Marseille. He tried to oppose fencing off the Croix-Jolie area, the community in the 9th Arrondissement. Hello, children. How are you? But in reality, there's nothing he can do. As soon as they are on their property, they are in their rightful place. So, in a way, the law prevents me from doing that. And these closures could well structure Marseille. Of course, these roads are private and they are maintained by the local government. So, the taxpayer does not finance any of this. The private road network must be maintained by the residents from now on. And that's not all. Every time an area is closed, the mayor must deal with it. In spite of these additional costs, residents in Croix-Jolie have kept the fences. However, not all of them are in favour. During the vote at the general meeting, six homeowners opposed it. Fabienne lives in this house in Croix-Jolie. Having lived here for 24 years, she has always been against setting up fences. First, a gate at the end of her road. And a few metres further, another completely sealed barrier. Fixed posts, anti-intrusion spikes and no pedestrian access. It looks like you're in prison. Yes. There's the inside and the outside. And it gives the impression that we are separated from the outside world. But the outside world is us. A self-segregation that Fabienne does not support at all. The eight fences which surround her community have turned her daily life upside down. What changed was that at school, we had a passage for children. It was the life of the neighbourhood. Do you miss it? Yes, I miss it. That's for sure. The life of the neighbourhood, I miss it. The life of the neighbourhood is life. The children Fabienne is talking about are students from neighbouring areas. They used to use these streets in the mornings and evenings to get to school. But since it's been closed off, access has become much more complicated. Sarah Lefavre has been living in a house outside the gates and the closed community for 12 years. Good morning, Sylvain. Five years ago, she found out about the construction of this gate at the end of her road. Today, there's no way to get through except to climb this barrier. Since then, her day-to-day life has changed, especially when she walks her son, Sylvain, to school. If there's no barrier, the school is right in front of it. It's right behind the building. It takes five minutes to get there. It's about 400 metres away. For seven years, Sarah cut through the Quangioli neighbourhood to drop her son off at school. Now, she has to go around Quangioli and follow a rather unexpected route. Across this collapsed wall every morning. Do you think it's funny, Sylvain? I don't know. It's true? No, I don't think so. This passage is not secured. Do you see the number of people passing by? There are a lot of people. A lot of people. It's like a parade in the morning. It's like a parade, yes. There are about a hundred people passing by. Frustrated residents. It's dangerous. We should write a letter to the mayor. The mayor has other things to do. You are distraught, ma'am. Yes, very distraught. Can't we make a little gate? What do you think is abnormal? Abnormal is that we do this every morning. It's very dangerous for the kids. We are waiting for a disaster to react. An impractical, dangerous path which has been left abandoned for years. What the residents want is a pedestrian passage. Something secure. But the union council is opposed and wants to build a six-meter wall that is completely closed. This would force all the people who pass by to take a walk on our side. The other side is the route which goes around the gated community. Go ahead. A pretty long way, but more importantly, it's even more dangerous. A few hours later, at the end of school... How was it? Very good. Why? Well, great. Shall we go home? Yes. She agrees to show us the route she fears. And for good reason. It's a real source of stress for this mother. Sarah has felt excluded since the installment of these fences. They have become a headache, even for certain Kwanjoli residents. We met up with Fabienne again inside the gated community. Today, she's invited friends round for a cup of tea at her home. Just four people, but it takes a lot of work. The first guest is her mother and she has to open the gate for her. Fabienne goes out to greet her mother so as to avoid a tedious procedure. Something that Fabienne does not wish to inflict on her mother. The other guests won't enjoy this preferential treatment. They must use the intercom. And each time, Fabienne has to re-explain the whole procedure. And open the gate remotely. The whole process is rather absurd until finally, she can enjoy tea with her friends. And her guests don't understand this system either. Living hidden away, protected, the gated community model is developing across the world. The trend has even spread to eastern countries and the market is proving to be very lucrative. Like in Bulgaria. After 40 years under communism, the country joined the European Union. In its capital, Sofia, are 1.4 million residents and Europe's lowest minimum wage at 235 euros per month. Although the town center definitely doesn't lack charm, the buildings are often worn down and degraded. Ivan, who's 45 years old, is the vice president of the Sofia Municipal Council. Every day, to go to work, he goes through Sofia and the area where he used to live. So this is where we used to live, in this entrance, at the top, at the roof of the building. He and his wife lived right here in the center of town, in a small apartment with a balcony on the top floor of this building. The main issue is that it's a very busy street. So it was packed with traffic, packed with cars. Now it looks like a highway. Noise, traffic jams, and the pavements here are far from the sanitized streets of gated communities. You see all those ugly pavements when you have a small kid or a stroller to carry the baby. This is really not the perfect way you expect to have your pavement. It's funny to admit for this municipality official. Ivan has even opted for a change of environment, even if it means turning his back on his town. He has moved to 10 or so kilometers from the center of Sofia into this totally gated community in the American style with fences, cameras, and security guards exactly like in the United States. He and his wife, Svoboda, along with their son, Alexander, have bought their dream apartment, 196 meters squared and a big garden, which is nearly 300 meters squared. Finally, I feel a big relief because, first of all, we were living in a much smaller apartment with all these toys and things. We were really, you know, full and packed with many stuff, so now it's really a big relief to move in something big. And it's a well-suited apartment for having friends over, like this French couple who arrived the previous day. This morning, Ivan and Svoboda offer them a tour of their new paradise, and here is the most important part for them. Up to three secure accesses with barriers and guards at the gate, a security that Ivan appreciates even more now that he is a dad. If you don't have children and you don't have to worry about anything else, having a security with the barriers and lifeguards, they actually watch around. They have cameras at night. They're watching the perimeter. And that's not all. The residence is overflowing with facilities. Basin fitness. Offices, a fitness center with a pool, football pitches, and basketball courts. But also, there is a nursery, a hair salon, a variety of shops and restaurants, and even a chapel, all within a gated community. It's a real man-made village. A town in which everyone has the same standard of living, a really quite comfortable one. And there's even a VIP living here. This man is Rosen Prevneliev, the president of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Powerful and highly influential neighbors, security, shops. Ivan no longer wants to leave this life of comfort. However, to live here and benefit from the security and comfort, they must pay for it. Each month, Ivan and Svoboda pay around 300 euros. That's a huge amount in Bulgaria. It's more than the local minimum wage. And Svoboda is a bit uneasy about broaching the issue. 300 euros in charges. That's twice her mother's pension. Svoboda struggles to accept it. In fact, for Ivan and Svoboda, it is tough to openly accept what they spend for a comfortable life. In this country, which has historically remained quite poor, this man knew how to make a profit from the newly rich. He's the owner of Residential Park. His offices look over the community. Georgi Rancev is a property developer, a pioneer in gated communities in Bulgaria. However, he began with very different constructions. Business Park, an entire area of offices made up of modern buildings for the time. And then we developed building by building, adding more and more office space and more and more clients. As a result, hundreds of businesses moved there on the outskirts of Sofia. 15,000 people work there, but they are far from their homes and the center of town. By talking to all the people and the business guys from the community, it came to the idea that they would like to live nearby because of the traffic, because of the jams, because of the parking problems. And we started acquiring plots. This is how the idea for the gated community was born. A small town for the executives of these companies with housing, shops and all the necessary comforts. Today, Georgi's company still owns the land, with the exception of the houses. So he manages the residents like a small business. One of his tasks is maintaining the communal spaces. Today, with his associate, he wants to do up the community's shared spaces, beginning with the empty land next to the chapel. Georgi wants to install some small covered benches, but the problem is that these installations, which are over 2 meters tall, come at a price. A bench like this is 10,000 euros probably. We are willing to invest something between 30,000-40,000. Every year, Georgi invests 1 million euros into the residents, taking special care of his 1,600 residents whom he doesn't want to lose because his success has created rivalry, and for several months, the competitor has been copying Georgi's idea. Just a few meters away from residential park is a huge building site, another community with offices, sports centers, restaurants and even a school. So behind the scenes, Georgi is preparing a counterattack. He has decided to build a whole new residence just a bit further from the center. Today, the businessman has met with his associates on the new land, which he has bought 20 kilometers from Sofia. He'd like to work out the appearance of the final project in more concrete terms. His architects give a tour. It has to be said that at the moment, it's rather difficult to picture a huge residence here on this vast land. He wanted this land so much that he negotiated with farmers accepting their rather surprising conditions. A lot of cash and some cold sweat. Georgi seems sure of himself. It must be said that this land has a huge asset, its location. An expressway leading into the center of Sofia, just next to the future gated community. It's clearly worth it. Three years before the first houses are built, clients are already rushing. Currently, we have sold as reservations more than 100 houses out of 136. We are signing 5 to 10 reservations per week. So by the end of June, everything, we believe, if we keep the same speed, will be booked. A full house. Since filming, all of the project's new homes have been reserved.