GreenOak Puts Luxury Homes On C/Fuencarral Up For Sale

7 February 2017 – El Confidencial

Between €350,000 and €1 million. That is the price bracket at which the high-end homes at number 77 on Madrid’s alternative shopping street Calle Fuencarral are going on the market for. The homes are going on sale in the building that GreenOak purchased, together with ASG Iberia Advisors (previously Activum), from the General Treasury for Social Security, for €21 million in a public auction – it was the only offer that the State received for this centrally-located property, whose renovation will combine luxury residential properties with retail space.

The operation, closed at the end of 2015, was led by John Carrafiell (GreenOak), hand in hand with the German real estate fund manager (ASG Iberia Advisors), which is led in Spain by Brian Bettel, the man who used to hold the reins at Cerberus in Spain.

According to sources close to the project, the plans, which have been developed with the utmost discretion since the acquisition, comprise the construction of 40 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes (measuring between 50m2 and 150m2), which will be sold for between €350,000 and €1 million, i.e. around €6,000/m2. In addition, the building will continue to house a sizeable retail space, as three of its six floors will be used for that purpose. The common areas will have a swimming pool, solarium and gym, however, it will not have any parking spaces, a major drawback for a project of this standing. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Sources consulted say that there is a long waiting list of people wanting to acquire these units, given that there are no other luxury new homes up for sale in the area to compete with this project. In fact, one of the developments that could compete in this market is located on Calle Fernando VI (in the Lamarca Building, just 500m away), which is owned by the Venezuelan Capriles family, has been completely sold already. GreenOak and ASG Iberia have engaged the luxury real estate company Gilmar and CBRE España to market the properties. (…).

The building, which is located just a short distance from Tribunal metro stop, has been completely derelict for several years. It has a total constructed surface area of almost 8,000 m2 spread over six floors and was constructed on a plot of land measuring 1,875 m2. (…).

This is GreenOak’s first major residential project in Spain, where it has previously focused more on the logistics, office and retail sectors; meanwhile, ASG Iberia has expressed much more interest in housing, along with the retail sector. In fact, that company has separate plans to construct more than a thousand homes in Madrid.

Last year, the fund manager purchased six plots of land from Altamira in Alcalá de Henares with a buildable surface area of 50,000 m2, on which it will build up to 650 homes. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake