Tag: construction licence

Ministry Of Employment Sells 2 Plots Of Land In Málaga

16 December 2016 – Real Estate Press

The Ministry of Employment has managed to sell off two plots of lands located in Málaga capital, which it no longer requires after it rules out an operation to construct the new headquarters for the Comisiones Obreras and UGT trade unions on one site and a building for the Malagan Confederation of Entreprenuers (CEM) on the other.

On Tuesday, the auction called by the Government to award these plots of land was tentatively resolved, after a first attempt in April 2015 was abandoned because no offers were received. On this occasion, the plots of land were awarded to two provisional buyers. One of the plots, located on Calle Padre Jorge Lamothe, behind the Ibis Hotel, which was previously going to house the new headquarters for local businessmen, was put up for auction for €406,366 and has been awarded to the Malagan-based construction group Rivervial for €610,005, according to sources at the Ministry of Employment.

The other, located on Calle Mesonero Romanos, in the Teatinos neighbourhood, and which had been initially reserved for a new building for the trade unions, is going to be sold to the company Resa, Encampus Residencias de Estudiantes, for €1,752,000, which represents an increase of €184,050 above its original asking price. In this way, the central Government will pocket €2,362,005 from the sale of both plots of land.

High demand for halls of residence in Málaga

In both cases, the plots of land will house halls of residence for students, a real estate product that, according to sources consulted, is in high demand in Málaga at the moment. Sources close to Rivervial agreed; the construction group is seeking to diversify its current business portfolio through this project. In this case, the land is located in the heart of the city’s Historical Centre, next to the Guadalmedina River.

The site on Mesonero Romanos will allow Resa to build its third hall of residence for students in Andalucía; it already owns one in each of Sevilla and Granada. Its Commercial Director, Carlos Cano, explained that the hall of residence in Málaga will have 300 beds in a nine-storey building that will have a constructed surface area of 8,500 m2. “The idea is to start processing the construction licence as soon as the Ministry confirms that we have been awarded the plot, so that the hall of residence can open its doors in September 2019”, explained the Head of Resa, which currently owns 33 properties of this kind, containing 9,000 beds in 19 cities. The building in Málaga will offer air-conditioned rooms, equipped with their own kitchen, study rooms, classrooms, a swimming pool, cafeteria and car park, amongst other facilities.

Original story: Real Estate Press

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Grants Partial Demolition Licence For Former MOD Building

9 December 2016 – Expansión

The Town Hall of Madrid has granted a licence for the partial demolition of the Precision Artillery Workshop, on Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, despite opposition from Ganemos.

Cooperativa Maravillas, the property developer behind the residential project that is going to be constructed on a plot of land that used to be owned by the Ministry of Defence, on Calle Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, has received some good news this week. The Town Hall of Madrid has granted the management company Domo a licence to demolish the Precision Artillery Workship, now in disuse, despite opposition from Ganemos, one of the parties that forms part of the municipal government’s coalition.

Following a favourable report from the Community of Madrid’s Local Heritage Committee, the Town Hall has authorised the partial demolition of the building. The remodelling of the property forms an essential part of the management company’s plans, which involve the construction of more than 300 homes on this street, located in the Madrilenian neighbourhood of Chamberí.

In any event, the licence for the complete demolition is pending a decision by the Heritage Committee to determine whether the building’s basement still contains any old air-raid shelters from the Civil War, in which case, they should be preserved. In addition, the cooperative is waiting for the agreement reached between the Town Hall and the management company to be ratified.

Details of the agreement

According to this agreement, the Town Hall of Madrid will receive 5,422 m2 of land for residential use, corresponding to 10% of the obligatory concession.

Similarly, the Town Hall of Madrid will receive 3,360 m2 of green space and 1,000 m2 of space on the ground floor of the building, where it plans to building a primary school. It will also receive 250 m2 of free space.

Manuela Carmena’s urban planning team has reached an agreement with the property developer to assign the property in this way, rather than monetise it, with the aim of “covering the deficiencies of these types of facilities in the district of Chamberí”, explained the Town Hall.

The agreement, which is necessary for the approval of the urban planning project and the subsequent work and construction licence, will be circulated for public information purposes and referred to the Town Hall for its ratification.

Opposition from Ganemos

The decision to demolish this building does not have the blessing of Ganemos. The municipal platform, which forms party of Ahora Madrid, considers that “there is no reason” to grant a licence to allow the demolition of the historical building, given that the management agreement required to be able to construct the new buildings has not been approved. According to the platform, several legal cases are still open with the Prosecutor’s Office and the High Court of Justice of Madrid that may still result in the cancelation of the urban planning project. (…).

Meanwhile, the cooperative pointed out that the buildings belonging to the former Workshop are not classified as being of cultural interest, nor do they have any kind of offical protection. “The General Urban Planning Plan of 1997 and its subsequent review did not foresee the need to classify buildings or land as urban land for residential use.”

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

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