Tag: building permit

Aedas Obtains Permit For 28-Home New Build Project in Madrid

8 March 2018 – El Español

The property developer Aedas Homes has obtained the building permit for the construction of one of its iconic projects: Cabot, in the heart of Madrid. The development is equivalent the company’s cover letter in the Spanish capital. It is located in one of the most privileged and fashionable areas of the city, between the traditional neighbourhoods of La Latina, Embajadores, Lavapiés and Puerta de Toledo.

With the building permit granted, the property developer plans to start work on the spectacular development, located on Plaza Campillo del Mundo Nuevo, in April, which is when the countdown will begin for the handover of the homes. Cabot is a modern residential new build project comprising 28 homes with 1-, 2- and 3-bedrooms and surface areas of 68 m2 and beyond. An exceptional and unique development with prices starting at €270,000, which boasts a high energy efficiency classification – an A rating – and an air conditioning system with heat recovery accompanied by the thermal comfort offered by the underfloor heating and cooling installation.

“Designer apartments with unbeatable views, a swimming pool on the rooftop, parking spaces and storerooms”, said Samuel Matarranz, Development Manager at Aedas Homes for the Central Region. “Besides its excellent location, you have all of the comforts that come with an urbanisation in the metropolitan area of the city”, he said.

High-end common areas

In addition to the impressive swimming pool on the roof of the building, Cabot will have fully functional common areas including: a gym, a garden patio, a solarium, common room, multipurpose room and a parking area for bikes. These spaces are in line with the new needs being demanded by the most urban of residents.

The project has been designed with the utmost care both inside and out, where elegant and contemporary lines dominate. The environments can be adapted to suit the tastes and needs of the future owners. Aedas has opted for large open-plan spaces and high ceilings, with natural light in abundance thanks to the huge windows.

“The project has been well received since the first moment that it went on the market on our website. During the first month alone, more than 10 homes were sold”, said Matarranz, who has no qualms about describing Cabot as one of the property developer’s most iconic promotions and an “image of the Aedas Homes’ brand”, in terms of everything it represents. “This project brings together contemporary architecture, high-quality and well-designed homes and an excellent location”, he concluded.

Original story: El Español (by E.E.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona From The Sky: 123 Cranes At Work In The Catalan Capital

7 November 2017 – Eje Prime

Cranes and new projects are drawing a new real estate business in Spain once again. According to the study Barcelona from the sky, compiled by the real estate consultancy CBRE, the Catalan capital has 187 projects underway, requiring 123 cranes altogether. Of the total number, 75% are dedicated to residential projects and 17% to tertiary projects, whilst 8% of the cranes are being used for other kinds of projects, according to the report.

By sector, the residential market is the most active in Barcelona with 107 new build projects and 34 refurbishment projects currently underway or due to start imminently. In total, the Catalan capital is currently decorated with 77 cranes working on the construction of new residential developments, led by the largest Spanish property developers, such as Neinor and Aedas, as well as some more local players, such as La Llave de Oro and Nuñez I Navarro.

Cuitat Vella and Eixample are the districts where the most refurbishment projects are being carried out, due to the age of the housing stock there. There are eight projects (24% of the total) and eleven projects (32%) underway in those neighbourhoods, respectively. Many of these renovation projects, especially those closest to the city’s nerve centre, such as along Passeig de Gràcia and Plaça Catalunya, are high standing affairs, such as the refurbishment of Casa Burés, located at number 2 Calle Girona.

In terms of new build homes, the districts of Sarria-Sant Gervassi, Horta-Guinardo, Eixample and Sant Andreu are leading the ranking, with 18, 15, 12 and 11 new build projects, respectively (…).

The tertiary sector is also building 

(…). In the office segment, there are twelve projects underway after several years of little construction activity due to the economic crisis, in general, and in the office sector, in particular.

“The greatest number of projects, both new build and renovations, are concentrated in the 22@ area, in the district of Sant Martí, where key projects include the future Parc Glòries and the Luxa Business Park, amongst others”, according to the study (…).

Several projects are also underway in the Sants-Montjüic area, including the construction of the Campus Administratiu, which the Generalitat de Catalunya will occupy and Can Batlló, very close to Plaça Cerdà. In addition, construction work is expected to start at the beginning of 2018 on the construction of the remaining two towers that form part of the Barcelona Fira District project, owned by Iberdrola (…).

In the retail segment, four renovation projects are underway in the Catalan capital, whilst one new space is being constructed, with the development of the Finestrelles shopping centre in Esplugues de Llobregat, which will open its doors at the end of 2018. This project is being executed by the Belgian property developer Equilis and has a gross leasable area of 25,700 m2.

Moreover, renovations are being carried out on several of the city’s main shopping streets, such as Las Ramblas, Fontanella and Paseo de Gracia, as well as in some of the large retail spaces such as the Glòries Shopping Centre.

Hotels and others 

“More than two years have now passed since the implementation of the hotel moratorium, which has negatively affected the number of hotel developments”, says CBRE’s study. Nevertheless, the construction of new hotels has not stopped in Barcelona, given that some players obtained their building permits in time. There are currently fourteen projects underway, with six cranes working on them in total (…).

According to CBRE, a small number of the projects currently being carried out in the city do not form part of the residential or tertiary sectors. Fifteen projects are underway at the moment involving twenty cranes to build or renovate parks, churches, schools, gyms, infrastructure work and nursing homes.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sevilla’s Chamber of Commerce Completes Sale of 2 Plots to Helena Rivero

2 November 2017 – ABC de Sevilla

This week, according to sources consulted by ABC, Sevilla’s Chamber of Commerce has sold two plots of land next to the Antares Club and on the Eusa campus to the family of the Jerez businessman Joaquín Rivero, who died in September 2016. The operation was agreed in November 2016 but was subject to the obtaining of municipal licences for the various projects. On the Eusa land, Helena Rivero’s investor group plans to build a university hall of residence for 400 students. Next to Antares, Helena Rivero is still deciding what to do with the 1,700 m2 plot, which has permission for the construction of a hotel given that it has been allocated for tertiary use.

In this way, the Chamber of Commerce, chaired by Francisco Herrero, will obtain a sizeable liquidity injection thanks to an operation that was closed for around €7.5 million. The negotiations for the sale of these plots were initiated by Joaquín Rivero Valcarce, the real estate businessman who chaired Bami. Following the death of the businessman in 2016, his only daughter, Helena, decided to push ahead with the operation.

Nevertheless, the sale of the two plots in question was subject to the Town Hall of Sevilla granting the necessary authorisations to build on the Eusa and Antares plots. Once municipal authorisation had been obtained to build a university hall of residence on Eusa’s plot, which has been allocated for social/educational use, the sale of the land was closed this week, according to the same sources. The sale had previously received the green light from the plenary of the Chamber of Commerce and the Junta de Andalucía, which oversees the region’s chambers of commerce.

A multi-national firm will operate the hall of residence

In terms of the university residence planned for Eusa, the plot sold to Helena Rivero’s investor group has a surface area of 2,200 m2 and permission to build up to 11,000 m2. According to sources consulted by ABC, a leading European multi-national in the hall of residence sector, which is listed on the stock market, will take over the operation of the building.

The other plot, measuring 1,700 m2 has been allocated for tertiary use – it is currently home to the exhibition hall, auditorium and parking lot of the Antares sports centre. On that plot, the company managed by the Rivero family may be able to build a hotel with a maximum buildable area of 6,000 m2, equivalent to around 100 rooms.

The hotel was promoted initially by Antares and it was precisely that project that led the company to file for creditors’ bankruptcy when the real estate bubble burst and it was unable to refinance a mortgage loan that it had requested from La Caixa in 2008 to build a four-star establishment in El Porvenir. Antares Andalucía had managed to reclassify the 1,740m2 plot, and so it was valued at €10.2 million in 2007.

In the end, the mercantile judge authorised the sale of the assets of the Antares Club, with their charges and levies, as well as of the brands “Antares Andalucía” and “Encuentros 2000”, to the Chamber of Commerce – through Eusa. The Chamber spent €4 million on the operation, including taking on a €3.2 million mortgage with CaixaBank.

With this sale of the two plots, the Chamber of Commerce will now have sufficient revenues to undertake projects in its two business units: Eusa and the Antares Club. The Chamber of Commerce plans to completely renovate the Antares Club, given that it is more than 30 years ago, and move its training activities to the SGAE building in La Cartuja. That building has a surface area of 35,000 m2, including an auditorium measuring 22,000 m2.

Original story: ABC de Sevilla (by M. J. Pereira)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Property Developers Start Buying Land Without Building Permits

11 October 2017 – Real Estate Press

Overseas real estate funds, with a major presence in the Spanish real estate market, are owners of large portfolios of land as well as of debt secured by land as collateral, and many are operating in association with Spanish property developers.

The estimates for this year indicate that 80,000 new homes will be built in total.

The funds Blackstone, Cerberus, Kennedy Wilson, TPG, Värde Partners and Apollo started to acquire servicers, created by the banks, when the real estate sector began to recover. Other funds, such as Lone Star, Centerbridge, HMC, Eurostone, Aquila, Oaktree, Castlelake, Värde and Pimco, have been backing residential development. In this way, they have become the new residential property developers that need land as their raw material.

Now, unlike in prior years, no one wants to risk buying land that still needs some kind of building permit approval to turn it into buildable land, due to the risks involved, and that is why the price of buildable land is rising.

Funds were able to acquire land in areas with high demand for housing, such as Madrid, País Vasco, Barcelona, the Costa del Sol and the Alicante coast, at low prices before residential activity started to recover. But over the last year, land prices have also been recovering in other large capital cities, such as Valencia, Zaragoza, Sevilla and Málaga.

Nevertheless, the potential that these entities see in the residential development segment has allowed them to reduce the urban planning risk in more mature markets, such as Madrid and Barcelona, until now, and start to place their focus on plots that still have not received building permit approval. Moreover, there is no shortage of people who are demanding that the administrations adopt their expansive urban planning policies once again.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Chilean Group Osim Debuts In Spain With €480M Inv’t On Costa Del Sol

29 September 2017 – Diario Sur

The Chilean investment management company Osim has initiated the development of a series of projects along the Costa del Sol where it plans to invest around €480 million in total. The company is going to make its debut in Casares, where today (Friday) it will present a real estate project comprising more than 400 homes and involving an investment of €200 million, which will materialise over the next four years.

The site in question is the Alcazaba Lagoon urbanisation, where 92 homes have already been built and where another 340 units are expected to be constructed. This urbanisation, which will be officially unveiled tonight, includes a giant artificial lake, which occupies a surface area of 1.4 hectares and has an average depth of 2.5 metres. It is the first development of this kind to be undertaken in Europe.

The project comes in response to an initiative by the company, formed by the Chilean entrepreneurs Óscar Lería and Patricio Rojas, who through the management company Osim are planning to channel the arrival of capital from Chile into several real estate projects to be developed over the next few years in Marbella, Estepona, Torremolinas and Málaga capital, according to comments made by Lería to Diario Sur.

The businessman explained that Alcazaba Lagoon represents the rescue of a project started in 2006 in Casares. Construction was suspended during the years of the crisis and has now has been brought back to life with the construction of the artificial lake and the redesign of the whole site, which will now comprise a block development with 78 units (…). The Town Hall of Casares has already granted the property developer the building permit for the first block.

According to Lería, the artificial lake forms the centrepiece of the complete rethink of the original project and has been the pet project of the architect Hugo Torrico. The development of housing blocks, which has also involved the modernisation of the original plans, has been carried out by three Chilean architects: Cristian Larrain, Jaime Hernández and Diego Aigeren.

Lería explains that the water feature, as well as forming the central part of the project, represents an absolute innovation in Europe, offering several advantages and not only functionally speaking, given that it contains an artificial beach 6km from the coast, where people can practice water sports. Moreover, he explains, the maintenance of the lake requires a water cost of less than 50% of that of a garden, twenty times less than that of a golf course and 100 times less than that of swimming pools with the same volume of water.

The homes have asking prices ranging between €250,000 and €500,000 and are aimed primarily at the foreign market, with British buyers in the lead.

According to data provided by the company, the residential complex will result in the creation of around 3,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and sales process and for the maintenance of the facilities.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Héctor Barbotta)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valdebebas’ Legal Problems: The End Is In Sight

21 September 2016 – El Mundo

The capital’s residential sector has endured several months of uncertainty, awaiting the ruling from the Supreme Court (TS) regarding the appeals filed against the express review of Madrid’s Urban Planning General Plan, undertaken by the Town Hall of Madrid during Ana Botella’s mandate.

The ruling, which the Supreme Court finally published on Tuesday, validates the legality of the PGOUM and means that urban development can now resume in the capital with a sound legal base. The main beneficiary of this ruling is the area of Valdebebas, affected by a first instance judgement from the Dispute Tribunal number 24 in Madrid, which declared the economic urban planning project null and void in July.

As a result of this ruling, the Town Hall notified the Valdebebas Compensation Board at the beginning of August that “on criteria of prudence”, it would suspend the granting of all new construction permits until it was aware of the meaning of the ruling from the Supreme Court. This setback represented the latest obstacle in a long list of legal proceedings that Valdebebas has been involved in since 2012.

According to sources, this legal uncertainty and the questions regarding the meaning of the ruling from the Supreme Court have paralysed some important land purchase operations – they have been delayed until the contents of the ruling are known. Now, and after hearing the ruling from the Supreme Court, the Valdebebas Compensation Board believes that normality will return.

In this sense, according to a statement, the Board will request the Town Hall of Madrid for “its support to restore the urban planning instruments (that were recently cancelled) as soon as possible, so as to be able to offer all of the legal guarantees necessary to neighbours, cooperatives and property developers”. The Board says “that it does not see any reason for the Town Hall to maintain its recent stance of suspending the processing and granting of construction licences”.

“It is time to implement solutions and we are going to urgently seek the necessary collaboration with the Town Hall”, said Jorge Serrano, manager of the Valdebebas Compensation Board.

“Today we are all celebrating the support for the decisions and developments made and for the opportunities being presented to continue to respond in a normalised and sustainable way to the growing residential demand that Madrid is experiencing at the moment”, he added.

The ruling has partially upheld some of the appeals, annulling the Transitory Disposition of the Agreement dated 1 August 2013, which sought to provide retroactive effects, but has limited its annulling effects exclusively to three urban planning projects that were carried out following the ruling from the Supreme Court on 28 September 2012 and until the resolution to approve the general plan was agreed on 1 August 2013.

According to an explanation provided by the Compensation Board in a note, in the case of Valdebebas, the ruling affects only the construction licence granted in 2012 for plot 168 (Residencial Adhara), which has been cancelled, although that does not have any practical impact given that the building on that land is covered by a subsequent licence granted in 2014.

Original story: El Mundo (by Luis M. De Ciria)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valdeluz: Another Icon Of The RE Bubble Shows Signs Of Life

19 September 2016 – El Mundo

The recovery of the real estate market is spreading like an oil slick out from the major cities out to the rest of the country. The strength of the recovery is such that it is even reaching places that were synonymous with the real estate bubble. Just a few months ago, this newspaper reported the resurgence of the PAU de El Quiñón – El Pocero’s city in Seseña. Now, the awakening of the residential market has also reached the reviled PAU of Ciudad Valdeluz, in Yebes (Guadalajara).

The streets of the development, which contain four- and five-storey residential blocks and whose design is reminiscent of the PAUs in Madrid, are exuding life. The area has 2,220 finished homes – with an occupancy rate of 83.1% – and 2,611 registered inhabitants (a figure that the Town Hall says actually reflects 4,380 residents). Although perhaps the best symptom of the health of the housing market could well be the lack of For Sale signs. It is estimated that the stock here amounts to just 100-150 units after the banks placed some of their supply on the market in one go at cheap prices, marketing homes that once cost more than €200,000 in the golden years, for less than €70,000 and family homes that used to cost more than €400,000 for just €120,000.

The limited supply and strong rate of sales has even revived the property development sector. In August, the Town Hall granted its first building permit for 10 years. Moreover, and this is significant, it was to resume a project that had been suspended in 2008 and which was one of the last embers of the real estate bubble. Ibercaja is driving this development. “It is proof that development in Valdeluz is becoming profitable again and we think that it will be the starting point for the new real estate market here”, said Vidal Gaitán, Town Planning and Environment councillor in Yebes.

Gaitán is not at all surprised by Ibercaja’s decision: “A year and a half ago, the bank received around 80 or 90 homes and sold almost all of them in six months. It has seen that there is business here”. The councillor believes that this first building permit will have a “magnetic effect”, which is already being felt at the Town Hall. “Over the last few weeks, several architectural studios have asked about the status of certain plots of land. They have even asked about the licence relating to a shopping centre that has been half built”, he said. The municipal technicians have been instructed to prioritise these calls.

The available product belongs almost in its entirety to the banks and Sareb. For this reason, servicers such as Altamira, Solvia and Servihabitat are the main commercial players in the area. Javier Muro, Regional Director of the Central Region at Altamira Asset Management, describes the current activity at Valdeluz as “a new phase”. His company sold an 80-home building in just a few months. “With updated prices and affordable financing”, he said “sales of these kinds of developments are proving successful once more”.

“Price is critical in Valdeluz” said Muro, who recalled that the PAU has had to overcome the setback of not having a shuttle between the AVE station in Valdeluz and Madrid. Gaitán still dreams about that train, which would link the town with Atocha in 18 minutes. (…).

Nevertheless, Javier Román, Regional Director for Madrid, Castilla and the Northeast at Solvia, highlights Valdeluz’s location. “It is five minutes away from Guadalajara and it is easily accessible from Madrid and the Corredor del Henares by the A-II and R-2”, he said, at the same time as extolling the virtues of its 272,000 sqm of green space. (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Jorge Salido Cobo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sold 25 Homes Per Day During H1 2016

15 June 2016 – El Mundo

The Chairman of Sareb estimates that the company sold 25 real estate assets per day during the first half of 2016, a pace that he considers “normal”, albeit below the historical average of 27 properties per day for the last 3years, since the so-called bad bank was created.

“At Sareb, we are constantly pedalling hard. We can’t stop”, said Jaime Echegoyen, who also pointed out that the company has debt to pay off. In this regard, he estimated that Sareb has already paid €3,100 million in interest.

He also admitted that the banks’ efforts to clean up their balance sheets by selling off real estate assets is affecting Sareb’s rate of property sales, due to increased competition. Nevertheless, he said that Sareb will benefit from the trump card in that it has on its side, namely, time.

“Sareb is not in any rush (to sell)”, he said at a summer course organised by the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP) and the Asociación de Periodistas de Información Económica (APIE).

No plans to demolish any properties

The Chairman of Sareb reaffirmed an earlier prediction that the company will stop losing money in 2017 and he confirmed that the bad bank does not expect to undertake any demolitions, despite the fact that some of the assets on Sareb’s balance sheet may take years to sell or “may never be sold”. “Would it be better to knock them down than hold onto them? Perhaps, at first”, he reflected, before adding: “But we are not thinking about demolition, because you need money for that”.

Echegoyen stated that the revenues that the bad bank is generating are mostly being used to pay off debt. In a summary of Sareb’s first three years of life, Echegoyen said that the company has sold 35,200 properties and generated revenues of €12,800 million. In addition, the so-called bad bank has reduced its portfolio by €7,800 million and has repaid €7,700 million (of debt).

On the other hand, Echegoyen stated that the real estate sector “has woken up with clarity” and is enjoying a really “sweet moment”, judging by the recovery in the number of construction permits for new homes and the “stability” that demand for real estate is showing.

Homes as a haven

The Chairman of Sareb emphasised that the improvements in real estate indicators have not only been observed in the large (regional) capital cities; and he pointed out that, at a time of significant volatility on the stock market, properties represent a haven for “Spaniards”.

Finally, the Chairman highlighted the change that is happening in terms of the (property) investment (market), from sale to rental, which is leading to an increase in prices in that segment.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

New Home Shortage In Madrid Drives Up Prices

3 May 2016 – Capital Radio

“All of the new build projects being marketed at the moment are off-plan and those that are finished have already been sold. We do not have any more new build home stock left in Madrid”, said Carlos Smerdou, CEO of Foro Consultores. That was one of the conclusions to emerge from the Real Estate Investment debate about the present and future of new build homes, held on Thursday at Capital Radio. The recovery of the real estate market is a fact. “Certain cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, started to run out of new build stock sooner, when demand exceeded supply, but that phenomenon has now spread to other cities such as Málaga, Alicante and Córdoba and the recovery is now evident across the country. (…)”, said Carlos Smerdou.

“The client profile has changed. Before we had investors looking to benefit from property price rises, but now investors are an end clients looking to upgrade to larger homes. One- and two-bedroom flats are no longer being built, instead we have three-, four- and five-bedroom homes. Buyers are now looking for quality, design, ecological projects and energy efficiency”, explained Javier Román, Commercial Director at Solvia.

“We are a cooperative manager and we have noticed that despite the political uncertainty, there is a lot of interest from people looking to buy a home. Young people have started to buy subsidised homes because the economic situation is allowing them to do so. It is clear that we have reached the lowest point of the house price cycle and in certain micro-markets, such as the one that we move in (subsidised housing), we are seeing a great deal of interest and we are even seeing price increases for unsubsidised homes”, said Juan Carlos Bartolomé, Real Estate Director at Víveme.

“During the boom, everything was sold, but now clients are more demanding and, as property developers, we have to focus on the clients’ preferences. We have to deliver a quality product, not only in terms of the materials, but also in terms of energy efficiency, which then generates savings for the buyer. Our plan is to end this year with 40 developments underway in Madrid, Andalucía, Costa del Sol, País Vasco and Cataluña”, confirmed Gabriel Sánchez, Business Director at Neinor Homes.

Industry experts are calling for a more efficient licence approval process from the Town Hall of Madrid. “We have a problem with the timeframes. The Town Hall of Madrid is taking too long to grant licences and is delaying lots of projects. That is wrong and it means that in the capital, there is already a shortage of new homes, which is leading to price rises”, explained Carlos Smerdou.

“It is undeniable that there is a problem in Madrid due to the delays in granting building permits, which in the best cases is taking six months. And that means that investors are afraid of starting a project that then gets paralysed”, said Juan Carlos Bartolomé.

“The delay by the Administration is widespread across the country, but there is more focus on Madrid and Barcelona because there are more projects there waiting to receive licences. (…)”.

Original story: Capital Radio (by Meli Torres)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Authorises Wanda’s Plans For Edificio España

29 April 2016 – Expansión

The Governing Body of the Town Hall of Madrid, chaired by the mayoress, Manuela Carmena, has tenatively approved the detailed plans for Edificio España and has authorised the “volumetric remodelling” proposed by the Chinese Group Wanda, which owns the property.

Now, a 20-day period of public consultation will begin. Following those discussions, the document will be approved definitively and then the relevant building permits may be requested.

The approved document defines the plans for the volumes of the rear part of the property and also requires the maintenance of its original protected façades.

A representative from the Sustainable Urban Development team, José Manuel Calvo, explained yesterday that he has agreed a work schedule with Wanda, which includes holding a preliminary meeting on 4 May to form a technical team.

Calvo added that, the different detailed aspects may well be defined within the next two months, so that the necessary measures can be taken to “grant the licences and allow the construction work to begin”.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake