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Former Headquarters of DIAP Converted into Luxury Homes
18 March 2018
The project is headed by Louvre Properties, a rejuvenated real estate developer which is on the lookout for more buildings to acquire.
Lisbon, 18 Rua Gomes Freire. The property is not on the Avenida da Liberdade, Chiado or Príncipe Real, but rather at the Campo Mártires da Pátria in Lisbon. Here, in an office building that ten years ago was occupied by the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of Lisbon (DIAP), the Scenic is being built, a new luxury housing building that is the focus of a total investment of €11 million.
The new building will have 26 apartments spread over ten floors and, as the name indicates, the property’s defining feature is a 360º view of the city. However, those views aren’t on all levels. “The views over the river begin on the 5th floor. The 2nd to 4th floors mainly have views of the Campo Mártires da Pátria’s gardens,” Augusto Homem de Mello, the marketing and sales manager of Louvre Properties, told Expresso. On the 1st floor, the lack of views is compensated with gardens and private pools.
These attributes come at a cost: between €505,000 and €1.3 million, or between €4,500 and €9,500 per square meter. However, even these heady prices are not a problem in the current real estate market, where sales in Portugal, and particularly in Lisbon, are red-hot. Sales of the properties began in October of last year, and 23 of the 26 apartments have already been sold. 85% went to Portuguese nationals. “On average, we’ve been selling everything in about six months,” Mr Mello stated. And the residences are still on paper. The architectural project has been finished, but construction has only just begun.
In fact, work on Scenic, which is Louvres’ second project, started in December 2017 and the building should be ready for delivery in the summer of 2019. In other words, people who are buying now will have to wait for more than a year before moving in.
Louvre had a similar experience with its first development. Alexandre Herculano 41 has already sold out, and construction is only expected to wrap up in the first quarter of 2019.
Two of the developer’s other projects, one on Rodrigo da Fonseca and another on Rosa Araújo, ” already have a shortlist of interested candidates,” but works will not begin before July and no price has been set yet for the flats, Augusto Homem de Mello stated.
Revenues of 50 Million
Just counting the sales of properties at Alexandre Herculano 41 and Scenic’s 23 apartments, Louvre has already taken in revenues of €50 million. Sales of the three remaining flats at Scenic should bring in an additional €1.5 million. Sales for the other two projects are slated to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2018. Louvre will start developing yet another building in Campo de Ourique in 2019. Considering that the developer invested just €35 million in acquiring the five buildings and the construction on Alexandre Herculano 41 and Scenic, Louvre’s prospects seem bright indeed.
A Rechristened Company
Louvre Properties is a Portuguese real estate developer that employs foreign capital from the US, Northern Europe and Asia (Hong Kong). It began operations in 2015 as Louvre Capital but changed its name to Louvre Properties. “We felt that the rebranding gave us a more evident connection to the real estate industry that is our focus, i.e., the purchase and rehabilitation of real estate, mainly residential,” Mr Mello explained.
Currently, the company is focused on Lisbon and developing the five previously cited projects – Alexandre Herculano, Scenic, Rodrigo da Fonseca, Rosa Araújo and Campo de Ourique. The company’s goal is to buy five more properties this year, no longer just in Lisbon’s centre, but also in Marvila or Beato. The acquisition of one of the five is nearly complete, the executive stated, leaving only four to go.
“We have the capital; now we have to find the properties. It is not difficult to persuade an international investor to come to Lisbon. You have to find the right assets to give them the quick returns they require,” he said. However, there are limits to what they can spend. “€20 million is more or less the most we can pay for a building, not including the renovations. Otherwise, it is no longer profitable,” M Mello concluded.
Original Story: Expresso – Ana Baptista
Photo: D.R.
Translation: Richard Turner