New Project in the Algarve to Cost €60 Million

28 April 2018

The Bayline residence is located in Armação de Pera, 30 meters from the Pescadores Beach. The venture belongs to Vanguard Properties and construction is expected to start in June.

Look at the picture. Look carefully at what’s on the right side. That’s right: the beach. It is the main feature of the new development that will be built in Armação de Pera, in the Algarve: it is right on the beach. “It is 30 meters away, or less. This cannot be found anywhere else,” José Cardoso Botelho, the head of Vanguard Properties, told Expresso.

Vanguard is the company that is developing the €60-million Bayline project. The reason for the name is that the development, in addition to its beachfront location, is also right next to the Alcantarilha river and a lagoon known locally as Lagoa das Garças.

However, in spite of its privileged location and the intended investment, Bayline will not be a resort, but rather a residential complex consisting of six 5- to 6-floor buildings, with a total of 255 one- to three-bedroom flats.

José Cardoso Botelho says that construction will begin in June of this year, and will be completed by December 2020. The development is to include swimming pools, playgrounds, a gymnasium, spa, private parking and individual storage areas.

In addition to the support infrastructure, “the project includes the rehabilitation of the surrounding area, which was a kind of counterpart that we agreed with the local authority,” the head of French company stated.

Sales in June or July

Although the expected length of the construction is a bit long – 22 months – Vanguard intends to start selling the flats in June or July of this year. In fact, according to Mr Botelho, they could have started selling them already, because “there are already some interested parties” but, as a rule, the company only begins sales when “we already an architectural project complete with detailed finishes” and the chosen studio is still working on the final project.

“We do not want to show something that will be changed later. For us it is very important that our reputation not be negatively affected,” he said.

For now, in addition to the exterior, which has already been defined, another detail of the project has been decided upon: there will be large windows from which to enjoy the view over the sea and the beach – beginning on the first floor – and views of the lagoon.

With all these features, the price per square meter is expected to range from €3750 to €6500.

Recuperating a Failed Venture

Before the Bayline project, the property had another life and another name. It was called the Lagoa das Garças Village, where the construction of the same 5- to 6-floor were planned, but with 296 flats instead of just 255.

The developer was a company called Almagarça that started work on the project in 2008. The foundations for four of the buildings were laid, along with parts of the first floors.

However, according to Mr Botelho, the company’s partners had “problems due to the crisis” and the project halted, leaving the people who had already bought the flats there – still in plant – trying to recover their deposits.

Knowing the story, and after analysing the project, Vanguard decided to negotiate with the owner to purchase the project for an amount equivalent to what people had paid for the planned flats. However, the process was not easy.

“We concluded negotiations on March 20 this year. It took five months, and we had 30 people included in the deed because they had made 62 promissory agreements. We returned all that money to the buyers who, by this point, had thought they would never see that money again.”

Original Story: Expresso – Ana Baptista

Translation: Richard Turner