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Bloom: Luxury Condominium in Quinta da Marinha
19 November 2018
The “Bloom Marinha” is a new gated community inside the Quinta da Marinha, in Cascais. The development is being built on 14 hectares of land and will include 88 one to six-bedroom villas, in front of the Quinta da Marinha and Sheraton hotels, next to the Health Center and the golf driving range.
The land is the last major plot of land in Quinta da Marinha granted permission by Cascais for development. Hence, it is a truly unique real estate product.
The project is under development by Bloom Marinha, which has two shareholders as promoters, Zaphira Capital and Reformosa (owned by the Chinese-American businessman Ming-Chu Hsu), both of which have other investments in the region. Construction will commence shortly and is expected to be completed within two to three years, depending on the pace of sales, the developers stated. The expected investment in the project exceeds 100 million euros.
An ‘opportunity’ in the hands of the banks…
“It was an opportunity … BPI held the lot, but the former owner’s project for a place with the location and characteristics of Quinta da Marinha seems unsuitable to us” – Adriano Lucas and André Alves Ribeiro, partners at Zaphira, told Diário Imobiliário. “The previous one proposed blocks of flats, while Bloom is betting on differently sized single-family houses with a close connection to the surrounding natural environment.”
The urban plan and architectural projects are the responsibility of the Portuguese firm CPU Urbanists & Architects, which collaborated with the Italian office BEST. The contemporary architecture which defines the project’s personality and the materials used are consistent with respect for the “surrounding nature”, with the use of concrete, wood and large windows looking over the gardens, incorporating high levels of energy efficiency. The existing vegetative on the property, largely made up of pines, was valued and integrated with the landscaping for the open areas and gardens.
The largest closed condominium under development in the municipality of Cascais
Bloom Marinha is the largest development under c0onstruction in the municipality of Cascais aimed at the upper segment of the market. The condominium, with a 5-star rating, is characterised by its low density, with smaller houses (6 one-bedroom and 28 two-bedroom houses) and medium and larger homes (30 three-bedroom, 12 four-bedroom, six five-bedroom and six six-bedroom houses). All have private swimming pools and extensive private gardens ranging from 320 m2 to 2,900 m2 of land. The six one-bedroom villas and eight of the 28 two-bedroom villas are semi-detached duplex houses in groups of two. All the other 74 houses are detached. The closed covered construction area of each home varies from 145 m2 for the smallest to 850 m2 for the larger ones. The of the homes have a choice between either a compact villa or one with an inner courtyard.
Privacy, security and services available …
Prices at Bloom Marinha “start from €700,000 to €750,000.” “Although Cascais is starting to follow the Lisbon trend in price increases, Bloom Marinha’s prices are below those currently practised in the capital,” says André Alves Ribeiro.
Also, the executive stated that “prices are also lower than building a house on your own on one of the plots of land left Quinta da Marinha.” “These lots are going for €1,000 per square meter, which could cost two million euros just for the land. Then you’d have to add the price of construction,” he added.
Bloom Marinha will also have a private children’s area and a small area for shopping, located at the entrance of the development, with a 1,600-m2 supermarket and other convenience stores that will also be open to the public at large. The surrounding area currently suffers from a lack of such services.
The development will be managed by a tourism-based operator which will provide a range of high-quality services throughout the condominium. Residents or guests will be able to enjoy a diverse range of options, from reception, security, gardening, pool cleaning, concierge services and cleaning and laundry.
Strong sales and reservations
Although sales have just begun, “Bloom Marinha” is already “creating a remarkable level of anticipation in the Cascais and Lisbon real estate markets, given the limited supply of housing developments of this type, in a closed condominium, offering security and services to its residents, while also seeking to meet the growing demand from foreign buyers who have come to reside in Portugal,” the executives told Diário Imobiliário, adding that “the project has everything needed to be a success.”
Young Portuguese developers
Adriano Lucas – son of the architect Adriano Callé Lucas and founder of the CPU Group – and André Alves Ribeiro, partners at Zaphira Capital, the majority shareholder of Bloom Marinha, are the faces of a new generation of real estate developers. Informed, well-educated, with a global vision of the world in which they live, they also know how to recognise and value opportunities in their home country.
Having studied management, at Catholic University and Columbia University, respectively, the two resided abroad for 12 years, and are currently based in London. They both worked in investment banking in London and New York, where they also developed projects in other sectors. They recently decided to invest in their home country. Bloom Marinha is their first major investment in Portugal.
Original Story: Diário Imobiliário
Translation: Richard Turner