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7 November 2018 – El Confidencial
It is the most important land auction of the year in Madrid. Not because of its size or its characteristics, but because of its location: just 500 m from the most iconic park in Madrid, the Retiro, in the heart of the Spanish capital.
The star is the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (the National Currency and Stamp Factory), which is the owner of almost 4,500 m2 of buildable land, with a buildability of 9,000 m2, where almost one hundred homes may be built, and whose divestment has been entrusted to the services of the Ministry of Finance.
The minimum price that it expects to obtain for the land is €17 million, nevertheless, given its location, and in light of the huge shortage of buildable land in the centre of the Spanish capital, and therefore, of new build developments, the experts consulted by El Confidencial do not rule out that the final figure could reach twice that.
The plot, which has been in disuse for more than 30 years, has sparked enormous interest from buyers and has generated great excitement in the neighbourhood. According to information gathered by this newspaper, some of the interested parties that have participated in the auction – the deadline for the submission of bids ended on 6 November – include a cooperative managed by Grupo Ibosa, Pryconsa and Vía Célere – all of whom are typical players in this type of auction – although the same sources also talk of at least half a dozen offers. To be able to bid, the interested parties had to submit a bond amounting to €853,000 – equivalent to 5% of the asset value.
For the time being, Grupo Ibosa’s plans for the plot include the construction, on a cooperative basis, of 94 homes with between one and four bedrooms with a swimming pool, padel court, spa, and jacuzzi, as well as a multi-use sports pitch, gym, minibox or crossfit room and a Finnish sauna; all those facilities are lacking in the vast majority of developments in the neighbourhood.
In fact, the project that is constructed on this site will be the only new-build development in the area. Ibosa’s plans include prices of almost €5,500/m2 per home, above the prices that are currently being paid in the area in the second-hand market, which stand at around €4,500/m2. Thus, for example, a new-build home measuring 160 m2 would cost around €828,000.
Both Grupo Ibosa and Pryconsa have starred in some of the most high-profile operations in the capital over the last five years. The most recent, for example, was signed by Pryconsa. The property developer chaired by Marco Colomer, one of the survivors of the crisis with more than five decades of history under his belt, submitted the only bid – amounting to €19.7 million – for the former bus depots of the Municipal Transport Company (Empresa Municipal de Transportes or EMT) of Madrid in the Buenvista neighbourhood (Carabanchel). Moreover, just a year ago, Pryconsa and Realia Business were awarded two plots of land in Madrid by the Ministry of Defence.
Meanwhile, Vía Célere, just two years ago, was awarded a plot by the Ministry of Finance on Avenida Santo Ándel de la Guarda (…).
In this case, the bid envelopes will be opened within the next few days at the Madrid office of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (…).
Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)
Translation: Carmel Drake