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(Visited 117 times, 1 visits today)
  • Transaction / Assets
    land in Florence
  • Seller
    Unipol
  • Buyer
    Toscana Aeroporti
  • € MM
    75

Unipol sold the Castello area in Florence

05 June, Milano Finanza

An agreement has eventually been reached. Unipol sold the Castello area in Florence to Toscana Aeroporti for 75 million. To be precise, the company who physically sold the land where the new terminal and the runway of the Florence Airport will raise was Nit – Nuove Iniziative Toscane –, a subsidiary of the group guided by Carlo Cimbri.

Unipol inherited those lands from Fondiaria Sai of Salvatore Ligresti, which had big plans for the area involving the construction of houses, shops and hotels. The area was confiscated in 2008 by the Florence public prosecutor’s office following an investigation on alleged corruption regarding the urban planning, which involved Ligresti himself. When Unipol took over the dossier in 2013, after the release from seizure, Cimbri assured the then Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi that the company’s job was to insure against risks and not to slather the territory with concrete. Hence, it was clear from the beginning that Castello wasn’t anymore a burden for Unipol, rather an opportunity.

In the meanwhile, Nit devaluated the area to align it with the selling price of 75 million: the devaluations reported by Unipol in the first semester are for large part referred to the area of Castello. But after five years, a solution has come, and it makes everyone happy. However, to be precise, it’s a preliminary contract subject to two suspensive conditions: the final approval of the masterplan of the Florence airport pending the compliance with the city planning, and the adoption of the Pue Castello variation as shown in the December 2017 guidelines by the Florence City Council. The preliminary contract has a validity of 18 months, with the possibility of extension for other six months.

“If the operation is successful, Toscana Aeroporti will finally have solved two problems which have been afflicting Florence for the last 50 years: the construction of an efficient airport infrastructure and the development of the area of Castello”, commented Marco Carrai, the president of Toscana Aeroporti, the company listed in the Milan stock exchange and operating the Florence and Pisa airports.

Besides the extension of the airport with a new 2,400 m runway parallel to the motorway, the plans for Castello also include social housing, the creation of a public park and the transfer of the Mercafir fruit and vegetable market. The operation might also indirectly favour the construction of the new Fiorentina FC stadium, which has been discussed for many years. The Mercafir market is currently in the area of Novoli, where the new stadium is meant to rise. Hence, the area will be free. The pieces of the puzzle which will transform such a crucial part of Florence are falling into place.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi