Tag: green areas

Aquila Capital Builds a New 1,300-Home Neighbourhood in Valencia for €350M

19 September 2018 – Valencia Plaza

In case anyone was in any doubt about the exponential growth being experienced in the real estate sector in the city of Valencia, Tuesday saw the announcement of the largest residential project launched in the city to date since the crisis. And the most interesting aspect: it is not one of the long-term investment projects. The new neighbourhood is a PAI (an integrated development plan), which has already been approved and the first homes are expected to be delivered in the Autumn of 2021.

The initiative comes from the property developer AQ Acentor, which belongs to the German investment fund manager Aquila Capital. The firm is going to build a development containing 1,300 homes and 75,000 m2 of tertiary space. “This operation, which exceeds €350 million, will see the creation of the largest residential urban planning development by a single developer in the country in the last decade”, said the company.

The chosen land is the PAI Fuente San Luis, an area that property developers have turned their backs on for years given its complex location, between the V-30 and V-31 motorways and the Nueva Fe train station – right next to the railway tracks that back onto the hospital – but which the resurgent recovery of the sector and the scarcity of land in the city have offered a new opportunity (…).

The space has a staggering 232,000 m2 of residential buildability, of which 130,000 m2 will be used by AQ Acentor to build 9 developments in total (4 social housing blocks and 5 private residential blocks), according to a statement issued by the firm. In total, 544 homes will be built for social housing purposes, according to the company.

15-storey towers

When asked about the project by Valencia Plaza, sources at the company explained that their plans imitate “the successful model of the Engineers Residential Park in Madrid”, another major project promoted by the brand after it acquired a significant portfolio of land from the public company Sepes. All of the buildings will have 15 floors and two of them will form part of a combined complex of 360 homes (180 plus 180, with a private garden area). The rest will be towers, of the same height, containing more than 100 homes each, located around a freely accessible green area.

Moreover, “the complex will have an enormous plot, measuring 79,000 m2, of very versatile tertiary land, which will be dedicated to various uses (commercial, hotel, social…)”, according to AQ Acentor, which explains that it has “several proposals on the table in this regard”. “No decisions have been taken yet, but the complex could be of interest for the creation of a hotel designed to serve people visiting the hospital, for the development of new offices…there is a lot of space, the idea is to achieve an attractive mix”, they say.

The area has 308,000 m2 of public space for green areas, as well as for educational, cultural and sports facilities, which will be completed with a large urban park measuring 33,000 m2. The company owns most of the plots, acquired formally from the firms Analyst and Proalival last July, but the Town Hall of Valencia also owns land in the area (in fact, it is the second largest owner). The rest of the plots belong, for the most part, to the former owners of the allotments on the site (…).

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Dani Valero)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Operación Calderón: More Social Housing But No Skyscrapers

4 July 2016 – Expansión

The buildability ratio has been reduced by 16% / The new proposals reflect a lower buildability ratio, with an average building height of eight storeys, and a larger transfer of land to the town hall, which will be dedicated in tis entirety to social housing.

Operación Calderón is back on the public agenda once again. The Town Hall of Madrid, together with the owners of the land – Atlético de Madrid football club and the beer company Mahou San Miguel – have agreed new plans for the site, which include reducing the buildability ratio by 16%, decreasing the average height of the buildings, and transferring more land to the Town Hall, which will be used for the construction of social housing. The plan must be presented to the Town Hall before it is approved.

“We have managed to launch a project that has gone through a difficult period, thanks to a better system of working. This has included listening, collaboration and the capacity to yield and seek the common good”, said the mayoress of Madrid, Manuela Carmena.

According to the new proposal, the total buildability area has been decreased from 175,000 sqm to 147,000 sqm, i.e. 16.15% less, and the average height of the buildings has been reduced from 20 storeys to eight.

Of the total buildability, around 129,000 sqm will be dedicated to homes. The representative of the Town Hall of Madrid’s Sustainable Urban Development department, José Manuel Calvo, explained that all of the 10% of the land transferred to the Town Hall will be reserved for social housing, which will allow it to “carry out the social housing policies supported by the city’s Government”.

The new plans also increase the size of the green spaces from 54,600 sqm to 79,900 sqm, and of the new facilities from 10,00 sqm to 12,800 sqm. The Town Hall has explained that the plans reflect “most” of the demands made by the neighbourhood associations of Arganzuela and will be subjected to a process of “public consultation for citizens and entities to offer their suggestions”.

Costs

In terms of placing the M-30 underground, the Town Hall will bear the cost of the integration of this stretch by offering “alternative solutions with much lower costs”. The Town Hall plans to cover part of the motorway, which would cost between €50 million and €60 million, compared with the projected cost of €140 million or €150 million associated with the previous plans.

The presentation of the agreement – which had initially been planed for 22 June, but which was postponed until after the elections – was attended by the President of Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Cerezo and the Director of Mahou San Miguel’s land business unit, Paloma Boceta. Cerezo said that next season will be Atlético’s last playing at the Calderón, before the club moves to La Peineta. “We have been working on this project for ten years. I hope that we will be able to close the deal some time soon, so as to to enjoy our new stadium and so that Madrid can benefit from a wonderful area in the centre of the city”, he added.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Operación Chamartín: DCN To Build Tallest Tower In EU

14 April 2016 – Expansión

The property developer behind “Operation Chamartín” plans to construct six towers – five will be around the same height as the four already in place and a sixth will measure more than 300m.

Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN) owned by BBVA and the construction group San José, has unveiled some of the plans for Operation Chamartín. The Chairman of the property developer, Antonio Béjar, explained yesterday that the project will include the construction of what will be the tallest skyscraper in Europe, measuring more than 300m tall and spanning 70 floors.

In total, this project will involve the construction of six towers, five of which will be around the same height as the four towers on the Castellana and a sixth, which will be the tallest in the European Union. DCN also said that 80% of the space will be allocated for use as public spaces and green areas and 20% will be used for the construction of homes, businesses and offices.

“The project is alive and kicking. Now we just need to submit it to the Town Hall for final approval”, said Béjar during the Sustainable Urban Development Forum organised by the newspaper El País. According to DCN, the urban plan has been approved by all of the relevant authorities and technicians through 48 favourable sectoral reports. (…).

Ministry of Development

Béjar reiterated that the completion of the process and the approval of the plan no longer depends on the Ministry of Development, but rather on the Town Hall alone.

In terms of his relationship with Manuela Carmena and her team, Béjar made it clear that DCN has not participated in the recent debates organised by the Town Hall to analyse the feasibility of the project…(…).

“At the moment…our intention is not to take this process to court, not at all. We want to reach agreement and consensus with all levels of government. However, clearly, that does not mean that if the project is harmed or damaged by government decisions that we consider do not comply with the law, that we will stop defending our interests….”.

The Chairman of DCN said that his intention was to unveil the details of the plan so as to “clear up unknowns”. In this sense, he denied that the buildability level would be excessive and pointed out that it is “significantly” lower than the levels in well-established neighbourhoods, such as Chamberí (3x higher), and Paseo de la Castellana (2x higher). He also added that infrastructure represents an investment of more than €1,400 million, which will be funded in full by the owners and will represent “zero cost for the residents of Madrid”. “By adopting a public-private partnership model, the infrastructure will be developed by the owners at the request of the various government bodies and for the benefit of Madrid’s citizens. (….), said Béjar.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Commits To Studying Operación Chamartín

25 June 2015 – Expansión

The mayoress of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, has confirmed to the Chairman of the Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN), Antonio Béjar, that she is committed to studying the draft plans for the extension of the Paseo de la Castellana, according to sources close to the company.

Carmena met with the project’s leaders on Wednesday, for around an hour, in an atmosphere characterised by the “utmost cordiality”.

During the meeting, Béjar described the planned development to the mayoress of Ahora Madrid. He explained that the project aims to promote the DCN through its Partial Plan and that it will be one of the most important city projects in Europe.

At the end of the meeting, Béjar seemed optimistic and said that he hopes that the Partial Plan will be approved at an upcoming plenary session, once the Town Hall’s new government has analysed it in detail.

The project will extend the Paseo de la Castellana north by 3.7 km and involve the redesign of an area covering 311 hectares. It will also include the construction of 17,700 homes, 56 hectares of green space – half the size of the Retiro park – and several skyscrapers.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake