Vis attracting young families to the island from all over Croatia 

Vis (Photo credit: Minestrone/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The town of Vis, on the Croatian island of the same name, is attracting young families from all over Croatia with new demographic measures. 

One of those measures in their model is the building of apartments with their own funds, which they will lease to young families from all over Croatia.

The first 13 out of a total of 52 apartments for young families will be ready soon at the former Samogor barracks in ​​the town of Vis.

“Demographic policy is not just about giving money, we should also think about creating jobs as well as housing. We are in the phase of realisation of 13 apartments, an investment of 6 million kuna. We received a million from EU funds for energy reconstruction, the rest was financed from our budget,” the mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica, told HRT.

The first tenants in Samogor are expected in April 2021. Three more buildings will be built in the same way. Young families from all over Croatia can apply, and the city of Vis has developed a unique rental model for these apartments.

“We are currently considering renting, we have not yet defined for how many years if it’s 5, 7 or 10 years and then these young families will have the possibility to buy these apartments and everything they have invested in it will be included in the price,” Radica explained.

In the immediate vicinity of the Vis waterfront, 22 apartments from the subsidised housing programme are also being built.

“Three APN buildings for 22 families and when you add those 13 from the barracks you come to 35 in total. We think this is more than an excellent demographic measure for a small town like Vis,” says Mayor Radica.

Access roads, parking lots, and children’s playgrounds will also be built as part of the project, said the head of the Sector for Technical and Operational Affairs of Gradina Vis, Damir Mumanović.

Other measures to improve the demographic situation in Vis include already the construction of nurseries and kindergartens, a sports hall, renovated primary and secondary school buildings, and a home for the elderly.