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‘Valencia Parque Central’ Reorganises City Centre Plots to the Benefit of Adif & Sareb

18 December 2017 – El Confidencial

The large urban planning operation to reorganise the railway access in the centre of Valencia has an aristocratic influence. The public company responsible for carrying out the project, Valencia Parque Central (VPC), and the city’s Town Hall have just finalised the reparceling of the land that has been released for the execution of the project’s first phase, which comprises the construction of a large park, the train access channel and the generation of residential building. Two aristocratic families have been included in the restricted group of owners of land susceptible to being built on – the Prat Dupuy de Lome y Puigmoltó family (…) and the Gómez Trénor Trénor family (…).

The Prat Dupuy de Lomes and the Gómez Trénors share plots with Juan Giner, a Valencian businessman, who has appealed the reparcelation (…).

Giner, the Prat Dupuy and the Gómez Trénor are among the few private owners that have held onto their plots on the site affected by the Parque Central PAI. In reality, the main beneficiary of the large urban reorganisation project is Adif, the Ministry of Development’s railway infrastructure company, to which almost 90,000 m2 of buildable space has been awarded, either directly or indirectly, with an estimated value of almost €40 million (…).

VPC and Adif have started to market the plots corresponding to phase 1A; they are located around the Joaquín Sorolla AVE train station and on the other side of the first stretch of the garden area, in accordance with Kathryn Gustavson’s plans. The idea is that the funds obtained from the profits resulting from the reclassification will help to finance the first round of work to adapt the railway access channel, as agreed by the Ministry of Development, Íñigo de la Serna, the councillor for infrastructure, María José Salvador, and the mayor Joan Ribó (…).

The VPC’s Board of Directors still needs to meet to agree the calendar for the plot auctions and the structure of the sale (whether the plots should be grouped together or sold individually). Meanwhile, Adif is already looking for buyers for the three plots that it has been awarded directly, initially worth just over €13 million and with a buildable surface area of 27,000 m2. Sources at the tripartite company admit that local investors and developers have expressed interest in the plots, which are all developable and which are located in the heart of the city centre. Lots of players are expected to participate in the bidding. The plans for this first phase involve the construction of 1,0000 homes and retail premises.

A hotel for Sareb?

Although Sareb has been given a lot less land than the Ministry of Development, it has also ended up winning from this first reparcelation (…). For the time being, it has been awarded a plot measuring just over 300 m2, but with a buildable surface area of 3,100 m2. The asset has an unbeatable location, right next to the Joaquín Sorolla AVE train station, and so it is likely that it will house a residential development, or a 70-room hotel, according to predictions from Sareb’s analysts.

The entity is open to receiving offers (it has already rejected some bids) for the plot, but it is also interested in developing the plot jointly with a partner in the property development or construction sectors (…). The public company VPC has valued Sareb’s plot at €1.57 million (…).

The local property developer Urbem and the firm Inmobiliaria Martínez Segura have also been awarded a residential plot measuring 219 m2, with a buildable surface area of 1,859 m2, which will likely house a residential development. Other players that have been awarded plots include the Planells Solers (Bronces Mestre) and the Giner Serras, who are related to the Ferrando family (Gesfesa).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Víctor Romero)

Translation: Carmel Drake