Tag: Generalitat Valenciana

VGP Acquires a 15,000-m2 Plot of Land in Cheste

19 November 2019 – The logistics developer VGP has acquired a more than 15,000-m2 plot of land from the Generalitat Valenciana’s Circuito del Motor y Promoción Deportiva (CMPD). The state-owned firm put the asset up for sale in August at an initial price of 2.7 million euros. VGP was the only bidder.

The land is located near the A3 Valencia-Madrid highway and is a part of the Cheste Circuit Business Park sub-division project. The public company currently has no plans to sell its second plot of land in the area, located near to the Ricardo Tormo Circuit. The company has been the only one to present an offer.

Zoned as urban land for commercial or industrial use, the plot of land has an area of ​​15,360.66 square meters and a buildable area of ​​9,984.43 square meters.

Original Story: Valencia Plaza – Begoña Torres

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

New Urban Planning Law Permits Legalisation of 350,000 Illegal Homes in Valencia

18 January 2019 – Valencia Plaza

Last Wednesday, the plenary of Les Corts approved a modification to the law governing ‘Territorial Planning, Urban Development and the Landscape’ in the Community of Valencia, better known as Lotup (‘la ley sobre Ordenación del Territorio, Urbanismo y Paisaje’), with votes in favour from the PSPV, Compromís and Podem. It is an update to legislation that, amongst many other issues, will allow the situation of around 350,000 homes constructed illegally right across the region to be legalised, according to figures published by the Generalitat Valenciana itself.

It is a controversial but necessary state of affairs, in the opinion of the Executive, which is supported by three political parties and which defends the need to give some order to a scenario inherited from previous legislatures through this initiative, as reported in Thursday’s edition of La Razón in Valencia.

When asked about the details, sources at the Housing Department explained to Valencia Plaza that these “homes, which were constructed on the margin of administrative approvals on non-developable land”, are characterised by the fact that “they lack certain basic urban services, in particular, sewerage systems”.

“After these buildings had been constructed, the passage of time since their construction gave rise to the expiry of the period for the Administration to act against them. And the legislation is lacking in terms of its ability to respond to this reality (…)”, they indicate.

According to their warnings in this regard, “the existence of these homes has an effect on the environment: the clear deterioration of the landscape that they generate and the dumping of wastewater into the subsoil without any controls or treatment, which is affecting the underground aquifers, the elimination of plant species (…) and the fragmentation of habitats”.

Individual processes for homes built prior to 2015

As a result, they highlight that “beyond safety, health and public aesthetics considerations”, the buildings and land “on any kind of land and whoever the owner”, must be conserved and maintained”, in accordance with the environment in which they are located and in accordance with the rules established by the urban planning legislation for them”.

For this reason, the reform of the law allows these residences to be legalised, although it limits itself “to buildings completed before the entry into force of Lotup (in 2015) (…)”.

According to the Housing Department, the legalisation of these homes “could be performed on an individual basis”, and they may be eligible for it “in all cases regardless of whether or not they have a file open”. Of course, provided they fulfil the requirements stipulated for it.

Solution to the ghost PAIs

Beyond that question, the update to Lotup seeks to provide a solution to the ghost PAIs. The reform reflects that in the case of urban planning projects that have been started but which have been suspended and which may have some viability, Town Halls have the option of dividing the sectors into smaller execution units so as to carry them out, step by step, and it extends the term to 10 years.

For those PAIs that are “anti-economic”, and which may be reversible, an inverse Reparcelation may be applied to return the plots to the previous legal situation and, therefore, remove the burdens on owners (…).

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Dani Valero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Prologis & Goodman Bid for 24,700 m2 Logistics Plot in Valencia

26 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Giants in the logistics sector are looking to expand their domains in Valencia. Prologis and Goodman have entered the auction for a plot of land spanning 24,700 m2 in the Valencia Logistics Park, also known as PLV. The space is currently owned by the Generalitat Valenciana, which has also put a second industrial plot up for auction, on the same industrial estate and spanning 8,600 m2, for which it has received just one offer.

In total, three other groups have also bid for the largest plot of land up for sale, besides the two international operators, namely: Inversiones y Terrenos Rústicos, VGP Naves Industriales Península and Servicio y Calidad, according to Valencia Plaza.

The five companies are bidding for a plot that the administration has placed on the market offering the option of the purchase and surface area rights, although the Generalitat is going to prioritise offers that express an interest in carrying out an operation over the second point.

After this operation, the Valencian administration will still need to sell 44,600 m2 of logistics land and 16,900 m2 of tertiary land. Moreover, the Generalitat is planning to place another 46,800 m2 of space on the market this year for a concession for a heavy vehicle parking lot on the M2 plot of the logistics park.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

‘Valencia Parque Central’ Hopes to Raise €300M From Sale of Buildable Public Plots

22 February 2018 – Eje Prime

Valencia’s public institutions want to recover some of the investment that they are making in Parque Central. The company that is promoting the development, which is owned by the Government of Spain (50%), the Generalitat Valenciana (25%) and the Town Hall of Valencia (25%), hope to raise €300 million from the sale of the buildable public plots in this area. Those proceeds would cover 15% of the total cost of the building work, which has an approximate cost of €2 billion.

According to explanations provided by the Town Hall, the intention of the company is to propose a first public auction of the land to the Board of Directors. The Director-General of Valencia Parque Central, Salvador Martínez, has explained that “they will study two formal questions: the specifications that regulate the sales process and the sales strategy”, according to Valencia Plaza.

The work that needs to be carried out in the Russafa and Malilla areas will bring with them the largest urban planning operation underway in Valencia. This is a railway and urban project, in which, in addition to placing the railway underground and building a new train station, the city will benefit from a new green space with a park spanning 230,000 m2. The company’s forecasts suggest that the garden will be inaugurated in June.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mercadona Buys 3 More Logistics Plots In Sagunto

12 June 2017 – Expansión

The Parc Sagunt industrial estate, which has been dormant for years and which has been promoted by the Sepi and the Generalitat Valenciana, is set to become one of the main logistics centres of the supermarket chain Mercadona.

In December, the group announced the purchase of the largest plot on the estate, measuring 358,000 m2 in total, for the construction of a buffer warehouse. On Friday, the Board of Directors of Parc Sagunt – in the Valencian town of Sagunto – announced the sale of another three, smaller, plots to Mercadona. Together, these latest plots cover a surface area of 211,000 m2.

The operation in December saw Mercadona pay €24 million, whilst the acquisitions announced on Friday amounted to €17 million. As such, to date, the chain has spent €41 million buying plots of land in Parc Sagunt. Oriol Montanyà, Logistics Director at Mercadona, said that these plots “will serve to complement the future requirements that may arise at the main warehouse that the company plans to build with service, grouping and packaging warehouses”.

Cluster of suppliers

The idea that Parc Sagunt could end up being a logistics cluster for Mercadona’s suppliers is gaining momentum, given that, on Friday, the industrial estate also approved the sale of another plot of land, measuring 16,000 m2, to the company Vostok, which is going to pay €1.4 million. That company has very close links with Mercadona, given that it collaborates with (…) its integrated supplier Patatas Lázaro, which works almost exclusively for the supermarket chain.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Mercadona Acquires Logistics Plot In Valencia For €24M

9 December 2016 – Expansión

The supermarket chain Mercadona is preparing to build a new logistics centre in Parc Sagunt, the largest industrial estate in the Community of Valencia, which is almost empty at the moment.

The firm has acquired a plot measuring 358,270 m2 for €24 million, on which it will construct a logistics block. The centre will not be used to supply the chain’s stores directly, like its existing centres, but will instead centralise the storage and distribution of products to the other logistics centres. It will be the first point of receipt for products that due to their nature require this kind of logistic management, for example, perishable goods, goods from the same supplier and goods imported through ports.

Sources at Mercadona explain that, for the time being, the definitive design for the centre and the total investment have not been defined.

The chain currently operates thirteen logistics centres and three satellite warehouses. In total, it has a surface area of 854,000 m2. In 2007, the company launched a strategy involving intelligent logistics centres, which kicked off with the construction of a centre in Ciempozuelos (Madrid) and was subsequently extended to include centres in Ribarroja (Valencia), Villadangos (León), Guadix (Granada) and Abrera (Barcelona). The final phases still need to be incorporated into this last block. Around €300 million has been invested to date.

In recent years, Mercadona has invested €700 million in its logistics platforms. It will open its next centre in Vitoria, whose first phase will be operational next year, following a €50 million investment.

Relief for Parc Sagunt

This operation was approved on Wednesday by the Board of Directors of Parc Sagunt, the property developer of the land that is jointly owned by the Generalitat Valenciana and the state owned company Sepi (50% each), which have invested €132 million. Mercadona’s arrival at the industrial estate represents a breath of fresh air for the space that had become something of a problem for the Administration. Even though the majority of the site has been completed since 2008, only three companies currently operate there and most of the land is still up for sale.

The plot that Mercadona has acquired is well known, given that in 2007, it was awarded to the Ros Casares group to open its major steel works Brava Steel, but that was never built. Now it has been sold for 41% less.

There are currently 26 other plots of land for sale and experts expect that, thanks to the arrival of Mercadona, demand for those plots will now increase, after years of paralysis.

Original story: Expansión (by J.B. and A.C.A)

Translation: Carmel Drake

‘Ciudad de la Luz’ Will Be Sold For At Least €47M

22 February 2016 – Expansión

The second attempt is underway to auction off the Ciudad de la Luz cinematographic studios in Alicante, which are owned by the Generalitat Valenciana. The sale is being forced by Brussels, which has ruled that the €265 million invested by the Valencian Administration represented unlawful State aid.

The new round of auctioning will take place after just one offer was received during the first round and that was disqualified for failing to comply with the conditions.

The new documents value the complex in Alicante at €94.4 million, but financial bids may be submitted with a maximum discount of up to 50%. In order words, the minimum bid that can be made for the entire Ciudad de la Luz complex stands at €47.2 million.

Brussels has finally approved the new documents prepared by the Valencian Government after months of negotiations, but it has imposed several conditions on the sale. Thus, the European Commission states that the complex may be sold in its entirety or on a piecemeal basis, in six lots, contrary to the aspirations of the Generalitat, which has also failed to defend the use of the studios for cinematographic purposes. The documents state that the studios may be sold for use by any type of industry and to the highest bidder.

Nevertheless, the Consell has succeeded in ensuring that the starting figure for the bidding is much higher than the previous one, given that the last auction, which was suspended in August last year, allowed offers to be made for as little as €20 million. Moreover, the potential purchasers must submit a business plan, which may or may not be linked to the film industry. Also, the proposed activity must not generate noise or environmental damage, and the site may not be used for speculative purposes. The Administration has excluded three buildings from sale: the training centre, the offices and the catering facilities.

Brussels will decide

Investors now have a period of two months, ending on 18 April, to submit their proposals. At that point, the purchase offers will be assessed and the winner will be chosen, so that the deal can be closed in June. Brussels reserves the right to have the last word and will have to approve any deal.

The current CEO of the public company Ciudad de la Luz, Miguel Mazón, said yesterday that the Government had contributed around €500 million in public money to the complex and its activity since Eduardo Zaplana introduced the flagship project in the year 2000.

Original story: Expansión (by Mª. J. Cruz)

Translation: Carmel Drake