Tag: Madrid Nuevo Norte

A Public Consultation Period Opens for Newly Approved Operación Chamartín

20 September 2018 – El Mundo

On Thursday, the Governing Board of the Town Hall of Madrid approved the modification to the General Urban Development Plan to develop the Madrid Nuevo Norte project, previously known as Operación Chamartín, 25 years after the first attempts were made to get the project off the ground and after long negotiations between the Ministry of Development, the property developer Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN), the entity awarded land by Adif, and the Town Hall.

Now, a period of public consultation has opened ahead of a debate in the Plenary, likely before the end of the year, in a meeting that is expected to be tense for the Ahora Madrid group, whose vote will be split, given that six councillors – three from Ganemos and three from Izquierda Unida – have expressed their opposition to the project. In fact, yesterday, Mauricio Valencia, the third deputy mayor, opposed the development at the meeting of the Governing Body after his party, Izquierda Unida asked Congress to suspend the new urban plans, which will completely change the northern face of the Spanish capital.

After it is approved in the Plenary, the plan will be sent to the Community of Madrid for its definitive approval, a mere formality, given that the Government of Ángel Garrido has already announced that it will give its approval provided all of the administrative requirements are fulfilled.

The councillor for Sustainable Urban Development, José Manuel Calvo, yesterday welcomed the fact that the project is going to be approved with “the support of the four groups” from the municipal body and with a different party leading each of the three administrations (…).

The new project has reduced the total permitted buildability of the project approved by the Town Hall of Ana Botella from 3,370,000 m2 in 2015 to 2,657,313 m2, which represents a decrease of 713,631 m2 (or 21%) (…).

In total, 10,500 new homes are planned, of which around 4,000 will be for social housing, owned by the Town Hall, within the 36% of land that corresponds to it according to the plans (…).

The councillor (for Sustainable Development) highlighted that one of the fundamental aspects of the operation will be the renovation of Chamartín train station, which “we want to turn into one of the best railway stations in Europe” (…).

The project, which is divided into four operating areas: Chamartín station, the Business Centre, Malmea-San Roque-Tres Olivos and Las Tablas Oeste, includes 390,700 m2 of green space, 252,094 m2 of facilities and 848,617 m2 for transportation. It will also have office space spanning 1 million m2 and the tallest tower in Spain, with 70 storeys.

The President of DCN, Antonio Béjar, said yesterday that he was “satisfied” with the approval of the plan, which in his opinion “proves that the regeneration of the north of Madrid is now a reality and that there is no turning back”, reports Efe. Meanwhile, Ecologists in Action and residents grouped into the FRAVM and North Zone Platform criticised the operation again for benefitting private interests and not those of citizens.

Original story: El Mundo (by Roberto Bécares)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Major Real Estate Projects in Madrid to Attract €10.5 Billion in Investments

21 August 2018

Some of the outsized projects for the coming years include the northern Madrid construction, the expansion of the Barajas airport and the Canalejas project.

Madrid will soon be the target of multi-billion euro investments in major real estate and urban development projects, upgrading the Spanish capital’s image in the coming years. The investments will lead to the construction of housing, skyscrapers, hotels, shopping centres, university campuses while also renovating some football stadiums and demolishing others.

Madrid Nuevo Norte, under development by DCN; Aena’s real estate project for Barajas; the Canalejas and Caleido project, along with the renovation of the Bernabeú stadium and the Mahou-Calderón development will involve total investments of €10.5 billion.

Four new skyscrapers

Madrid Nuevo Norte is the most ambitious project and the one that has been the longest in the making. Formerly known as Operation Chamartín, the project involves the construction of 365 new buildings in Madrid, including 10,500 flats and three skyscrapers in the vicinity of the Chamartín train station, in the north of the capital.

Construction of the project, which had been paralysed for a quarter of a century, is expected to begin in 2019. If the developer manages to keep to the announced deadlines, reparcelling and development will start by the end of next year or early 2020, and the first homes will be ready by 2021 or 2022.

Considering the sheer magnitude of the project, which will have a buildable area of 2.66 million square meters, construction is expected to last for more than two decades. Madrid Nuevo Norte will require €6 billion in investments and should create roughly 120,000 jobs during the construction phase and 94,000 posts after its completion.

A building known as the fifth tower will be erected in the area surrounding Madrid Nuevo Norte. The Caleido project will involve investments of €300 million and should be ready by the end of next year. Inmobiliaria Espacio, of the Villar Mir Group, was awarded the development and operationalisation of the project on public land in 2014 and is leading the development together with Megaworld, a conglomerate held by the Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan.

The project will include a 36-floor, 165-meter tower, which will house IE’s new, vertical campus, and a second building, 280 meters long and 60 meters wide, that will host a sports medicine centre operated by Quirónsalud.

Aena’s planned project for the land adjacent to the Barajas airport also stands out. The airport manager is forecasting a total investment of €2.997 billion over the next 40 years.

The project, with 2.7 million buildable square meters, will have logistics warehouses, offices, hotels and even a shopping centre. The company chaired by Maurici Lucena is searching for partners to develop its plans and, for now, the Blackstone fund and other major investors have demonstrated interest.

The Canalejas project, under development by OHL and Mohari Limited, a company owned by the Israeli executive Mark Scheinberg, is located in central Madrid. The venture, which will link seven historic buildings, will host Spain’s first Four Seasons hotel, along with luxury homes and a shopping area. The project is expected to involve €300 million in investments and is expected to be ready by 2019.

Madrid’s real estate and urban development plans will also affect the iconic Santiago Bernabéu stadium. In April, the city council gave the green light to a plan for reparcelling land for the new stadium, which will involve an investment of about €400 million.d

Housing at the Calderón

1,300 homes will be built on the grounds of another stadium, the Calderón, the former home of Atlético de Madrid. The sale of the land is expected to raise about €175 million in investments from any future buyers (developers), in addition to the more than €42 million stemming from the reparcelling project for the stadium and the grounds of the old Mahou factory.

Original Story: Expansion – Rebecca Arroyo

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Dragados is Asking for c. €180M for 88,000 m2 Buildable Plot in Tetuán (Madrid)

6 August 2018 – El Confidencial

A new and powerful land operation is taking shape in the centre of the Spanish capital. The star is Dragados, one of the heavyweights in the construction sector in Spain. The subsidiary of ACS has been trying to sell several plots, which together span a buildable surface area of just over 80,000 m2, on Paseo de la Dirección in the Tetuán district in the north of Madrid and just 2 km from the Cuatro Torres, for almost a year. And this area has just received the green light from the Town Hall of Madrid, which approved a Partial Plan on Tuesday that will undoubtedly favour land transactions since it means the urban planning risk has disappeared.

According to the sources consulted, the plots have been on the market for a year, but the high price expectations of Dragados – which amount to around €180 million – have prevented the sale from being closed, until now. Large property developers, investment funds and family offices have all expressed their interest. The construction company is being advised by Colliers International, which declined to comment on the deal.

On the table is a real gem, given that the plots are all finalist, in other words, ready to be built on. Such assets are in very short supply inside the M-30. Specifically, the site comprises two plots for the construction of private housing and two other plots for the construction of social housing properties (VPPL) and mixed-use assets (offices and tertiary).

For the former, which have a buildability of around 40,000 m2, Dragados is asking for around €2,500/m2 (…), in other words, around €100 million, which would make it one of the largest land operations in the capital in recent months. “That price would mean selling the future homes at prices of around €5,000/m2, which is way above current market prices in the area”, say the same sources. House prices in the area amount to around €2,400/m2 – €3,000/m2, depending on the types of homes.

For the plots to be used for social housing and offices – which also have a buildability of approximately 40,000 0m2 – the vendor’s price expectations amount to around €80 million. Despite the boom in the capital, these figures exceed the prices that the potentially interested parties are willing to pay.

Ten years in the making

With the approval this Tuesday from the Town Hall of the new planning order for the area, it seems that finally, and after more than a decade, work is going to begin on this ambitious urban remodelling project. It will involve the construction of around 2,000 new homes, most of which will be protected in some way (VPPB and VPPL), including two rehousing buildings and several 25-storey towers. To put that into context, the Cuatro Torres have between 45 and 58 floors (…).

Historically, Paseo de la Dirección has been a downtrodden area in the north of Madrid with numerous substandard homes that would benefit greatly from the definitive launch of Madrid Nuevo Norte – formerly Operación Chamartín – just 2km away. What’s more, the site is very close to the capital’s financial district par excellence, Azca, as well as to Plaza Castilla, the hub for much of Madrid’s land transport network (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz & R. Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid Nuevo Norte: Carmena Unveils the Latest Plans

28 July 2018 – El País

More green spaces, sustainable transport and a new financial district (city), which is going to change the face of the Castellana over the next 20 years. The thoroughfare that crosses the north of Madrid is going to grow up around Chamartín station, which will become a large hub due to its proximity to the airport. The mayor of the city, Manuela Carmena, having reached an agreement with the Minister for Development, José Luis Ábalos, the Community of Madrid and the property developer Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN) presented the Madrid Nuevo Norte project, also known as Operación Chamartín, on Friday. It is going to be one of the largest urban planning developments in Europe, and its aim is to launch the Spanish capital into the 21st century.

In numbers, Madrid Nuevo Norte is going to involve the renovation of an area spanning 2,600 km2, where the property developer Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN), the Town Hall, the Ministry of Development and the Community of Madrid are going to build a financial centre with large green spaces, modern buildings for latest generation offices and a new train station, which will be at the heart of the new financial district.

The future Chamartín station will become a domestic and international hub. Its strategic position, given its proximity to the Madrid-Barajas airport, will allow for journeys in record time. Adif is considering creating a direct connection between the station and the airport. The public company controlled by the Ministry of Development also announced that it is going to work on a direct connection between Chamartín and Atocha train stations.

The new business centre will be home to three skyscrapers, one of which will stand 250 m high, the tallest in Spain. The project is being inspired by the north of Europe from an urban planning perspective (experts highlight the similarities with the new financial district in Amsterdam). Specifically, due to the coexistence of work areas and residential spaces. In fact, leisure areas and housing will be created in Madrid’s new city. The idea is to build a centre that will be “open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, according to explanations provided by the Councillor for Sustainable Urban Development, José Manuel Calvo (Podemos).

The project will divide the space into four zones: Chamartín station, the business centre and the neighbourhoods of Malmea-San Roque-Tres Olivos and Las Tablas Oeste. In total, the Town Hall, which has led the project and  the negotiations with the private operators, has ensured that up to 20% of all the homes built in the area will be social housing properties (compared with 10% proposed by Ana Botella’s previous plan) (…).

In terms of the timings, the Town Hall expects to raise the project to the plenary this year. Nevertheless, the Community of Madrid still needs to approve several reports, including the environmental study, which is mandatory. The Community of Madrid is expected to approve the plan next year. If so, the first bricks will be laid in three or four years time. According to estimates from the property developers, this project will generate 200,000 jobs and involve an investment of €6 billion.

Original story: El País (by Luca Costantini)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Baraka Sells a Logistics Warehouse in Murcia to Corum for €14M

11 June 2018 – Expansión

The Baraka Group, controlled by the businessman Trinitario Casanova, has closed an agreement to sell one of the logistics assets owned by its construction company Trabis.

Specifically, Baraka has sold a logistics warehouse, called Trabis II, located in the Murcian town of Yecla, the region where Casanova’s companies are headquartered. The property, which has a constructed surface area of 14,000 m2, has been sold for €14 million through a sale and leaseback contract.

“The advantage is that the buyer is guaranteed an asset in which the tenant will continue to undertake its activity”, explained Pablo Carvajal, Director of Capital Markets at Catella, the consultancy firm that has advised the new owner in the transaction.

The buyer is the French fund manager Corum Asset Management. Created in 2011 and with offices in Paris and Amsterdam, the firm set itself the objective last year of investing €500 million in real estate assets across Europe, with a special focus on Spain. For its investments, whose yields exceed 6%, Corum works with two funds Corum Origin and Corum XL, the latter was launched last year.

This is not the first time that Baraka and Corum have closed an operation together. In July 2016, the French firm paid more than €24.8 million for another logistics building also leased to Trabis.

Corum is one of the international investors that has opted to purchase logistics assets in Spain, a booming market due to its high returns and the increase in the e-commerce business. “The logistics investment market is proving attractive for domestic and international investors alike and increasingly more are investing in this type of asset. Between January and May, €250 million has been invested in these types of properties”, say sources at Catella.

At the overall level, investment during the first half of the year is expected to reach €5 billion. “During 2018, €3 billion has been invested in tertiary (non-residential) assets. Taking into account certain transactions pending completion, we expect to see investment of close to €5 billion during the first half of the year, around €1 billion less than during the same period in 2017”, he predicts.

Casanova

The divestment of this logistics warehouse comes just weeks after Trinitario Casanova entered the Madrid Nuevo Norte real estate project (known as Operación Chamartín). The businessman has committed to pay €400 million to the initial owners for the rights to 1.2 million m2 of land (now in the hands of the Ministry of Development) where the company DCN, controlled by BBVA and SanJosé, is planning to build an urban development with more than 10,500 homes.

In addition, Casanova is working on the marketing of the future shopping arcade in Edificio España, the property that he purchased from Wanda for €172 million to immediately sell it on to the RIU hotel group.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Land Shortage Causes House Prices to Soar in Madrid

5 November 2017 – El Mundo

House prices are on the rise in Madrid, due to the shortage of available buildable land and the high pent-up demand (the Spanish capital is capable of absorbing around 10,000 new homes per year and just as many second-hand homes). That was one of the main conclusions from the meeting organised last week by El Mundo in collaboration with Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN) to analyse the likely impact of the 11,000 new homes that are being planned as part of Madrid Nuevo Norte, the official name for the project more commonly known as Operación Chamartín.

According to Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores, Madrid Nuevo Norte is an “absolutely essential project for that area of Madrid”, because both of the existing urban developments, namely, Valdebebas and Arroyo del Fresno, as well as the neighbouring municipalities, Alcobendas and San Sebastían de los Reyes “have run out of land”. In his opinion, “anything that places this part of Madrid on the market is a good thing, even if it causes price inflation, as seen in Valdebebas, where homes now cost more than €3,000/m2″.

Beyond its importance from a residential perspective, “Madrid Nuevo Norte also involves a major urban regeneration project, which offers a golden opportunity to position Madrid as one of the greatest capital cities in Europe”, according to Carolina Roca, Vice-President of the Association of Property Developers in Madrid (Asprima). In this sense, the final plans – which will probably be approved during the course of next year – include the construction of a large business centre, as well as a major refit of Chamartín station (which will house the future headquarters of Adif and Renfe).

Although this is an ambitious project from every perspective, “the area to the north of Madrid has capacity to absorb much higher figures than the 11,000 homes currently forecast”, says Samuel Población, Head of Residential and Land at the consultancy firm CBRE. “The absorption rate that we have seen in Valdebebas in just five years serves as an example”, he adds.

Moreover, the current rates of house building confirm that demand is continuing to grow right across the Community of Madrid. Based on the number of construction permits granted, the region is currently building 22,000 properties per year, a figure that contrasts with the 80,000 properties that are going to be built in Spain as a whole in 2017. According to Roca, “property development is performing well in Madrid, but the same dynamism is not being replicated across the country and so, we are still a long way off the 150,000 homes per year that need to be built”. That means that the region “has doubled its weight, something that is not positive because Madrid cannot cope with the real estate business of the whole of Spain”.

But the main problem, according to the head of the Madrilenian property developers, is that the municipal authorities are not responding to this increase in demand by offering new plots of land. “The available buildable land will have been used up in three or four years and no one is performing the repositioning that is necessary for after that period”. (…).

The main consequence of the shortage of raw material in the hands of property developers “is a significant rise in the prices of plots, which end up being passed on in the form of more expensive house prices”, explains Población (…).

In this context, Corral also stressed the need to promote new urban developments as “generators of homes for the most disadvantaged households, as shown by the more than 2,200 social housing units included in Madrid Nuevo Norte (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Rubén G. López)

Translation: Carmel Drake