339
339

Apple’s Landlord to Build a 20,000 m2 Hotel in Central Madrid

27 June 2018 – El Economista

The Mexican Díaz Estrada family, owner of the Apple store in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, has decided to launch a new hotel project in the heart of the Spanish capital. It will be a large complex, spanning almost 20,000 m2, which is going to be built on Calle Montera, in two adjacent buildings, one of which used to house the former Acteón cinemas for many years.

According to several sources in the sector, speaking to El Economista, the Latin American group has decided to re-launch this development now, although it has been working on it for several years. In this way, the family acquired numbers 25-27 Calle Montera in 2013 through its company Exacorp One. That building had been owned by the public company Madrid Espacios y Congresos, which purchased it in 2007 for €55.4 million during the reign of Alberto Ruíz Gallardón. The intention of the Administration was to renovate the property and give it a new lease of life as a hotel, but that operation was thwarted by the arrival of the crisis and the plummeting prices. In the end, it sold it for €34 million to Exacorp One, which, in 2015, also acquired the adjacent building (Montera 29-31) where the Acteón cinemas used to be located.

Now the group is going to convert both buildings into a 173-room hotel complex, according to the project plans to which this newspaper has had access. Thus, the company obtained the permits to carry out this project last summer and according to the same sources, may have already reached an agreement with a chain to operate the hotel. According to the experts, this project has sparked interest amongst all operators, especially those who still don’t have a presence in Spain. “It is a very iconic project in the heart of Madrid, where there are few developments of this size underway. Moreover, Calle Montera has undergone a very significant transformation in recent times, to improve its retail and restaurant offer”.

The construction of the new hotel will involve the complete demolition of the building at number 29-31 (the Acteón cinemas) in order to build a new building connected to the adjoining one. The 12-storey establishment will have one of the best terraces in the centre, spanning 654 m2 – housing a restaurant – with a swimming pool (…). The initial plans also include the installation of a gym, a bar, meeting and banquet rooms, as well as a function room for the hotel. In addition, the building will house five commercial premises.

This is not the first hotel project from the Díaz Estrada family, which is also the owner of the new Hyatt Centric, at number 31 Gran Vía. With that opening, the chain returned to Madrid in December 2017 after leaving the management of the Villa Magna nine years ago. The Hyatt name is precisely one that is being suggested as a possible contender to operate the hotel on Calle Montera, under one of the chain’s other brands, given that it could do so by reaching a double agreement with the owners.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake