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70 Million Euros to Build a New Neighborhood

28 November 2017

70 million euros will be invested in the construction of two lots (one already in place), out of a total of twelve in the Braço de Prata development in Lisbon, the developer informed, referring to an entirely new neighbourhood in the city.

“At this stage, with our focus limited to lot eight, which has already been built, and lot seven, which is what we are starting to build, we are talking about an investment of about 70 million euros,” the executive president of the company that is managing this real estate project, Norfin, said today to the new agency Lusa.

The executive, Joao Brion Sanches, added that accounting for the “infrastructure that is already in place, our investment will be significantly higher than this,” without specifying any figures.

The project concerns the urban development of the Jardins Braço de Prata on the grounds of the former war material factory in Marvila, a project now called Empreendimento Prata.

Construction started in December 2010, 12 years after the project was initially developed, with the aim to resuming the process of urban regeneration that began with Expo 98, but once again, the development was interrupted.

At the time, a private investment of €220 million was envisaged.

Noting that Norfin only began managing the project at the end of 2013 on behalf of the Lisfundo Closed Real Estate Investment Fund (supported by funds from Novo Banco and the Caixa Geral de Depósitos), João Brion Sanches alluded to “several problems, primarily licensing” to justify why construction was only resumed at the end of 2016.

Since then, works have been carried out on infrastructure such as sanitation, electricity, roads, streets, sidewalks, signage, lighting, afforestation and public parking, he stated.

“Everything is under construction and … will be finished by the end of this year or the beginning of next year,” the official said, noting that the first lot will also be completed on that time.

This first building will have 28 two- to five-bedroom apartments. Twenty have already been sold, according to Mr Sanches.

“The first building has been almost entirely sold. For an enterprise that is the renovation of an area of the city, we consider that it is a total success regarding sales,” he noted.

In all, the Empreendimento Prata will include 499 one- to six-bedroom apartments with prices ranging from 400,000 to two million euros.

The total area is 240,000 square meters, 100,000 of which relate to housing, 19,000 square meters to retail spaces and 7,000 square meters to offices and services.

“In practice, we are talking about a neighbourhood, not a development. Of course, it is a development, […] but it is a new neighbourhood in the eastern part of the city” with amenities and services, the executive stated.

Mr Sanches estimated that the development would require another ten years of work, expecting completion by 2027, but he also pointed out that this depends on the business plan, which can be accelerated to a period of between five and seven years.

The building under construction on lot seven should be ready by 2019, and construction should begin on another building at the same time.

Norfin estimates that after the project is completed, around 2,500 people will be living and working in that area of Lisbon.

The project, designed by the architecture studio Renzo Piano, was presented on Tuesday.

Original Story: Diário de Notícias / Lusa

Translation: Richard Turner