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Vía Celere Co-Invests in Lucrative Development Project in Barcelona

20/11/2014 – El Confidencial

Madrid-based property manager Vía Celere got involved into a project including 200 dwellings which Catalan family Muñoz Ramonet wants to build in the Bordeta neighbourhood, Barcelona, inside an old factory complex known as Can Batllo.

With the agreement in hand, Vía Celere will mend the best residential housing development in Barcelona, setting off such leading Catalan developers as Sanahuja or the Corp group.

Vía Celere is one of the few Madrid developers that resisted the recession. It is chaired by Juan Antonio Gomez-Pintado.

The Muñoz Ramonets control real estate firm Inmogaudir, the owner of a large part of the Can Batllo industrial spot. In spite of holding the ownership documents, the company is unable to finish many of its important assets.

According to financial sources, Vía Celere offered €21 million to the Muñoz Ramonets, a small part transferred in cash. The rest of the amount will be conveyed in kind: finished shops and apartments of the 200 dwellings to be constructed together with four residential towers. The products will be the first of the total of 1.300 flats set to be built within the Can Batllo complex border lines.

Local authorities truly wished the housing development was built and even gave €20 million to the holding family to urbanize the area. As they had failed to do that, the City Council bought the central warehouse inside Can Batllo from local Catalonian government for €30 million paid in debt. However, the purchaser faced some financial challenges and another stumbling block appeared on the way to finish the project.

Now Vía Celere provides private investment , while the City Hall will ensure public equity injection in shape of the industrial unit, in which it is planning to locate some of its municipal offices.

Vía Celere alone will have to spend more than €35 million on the 200 first houses. Pulled by the two locomotives, the project (pictured) can finally hit the road after almost a decade of halt.

Original article: El Confidencial (by Marcos Lamelas)

Translation: AURA REE