25 February 2019 – Eje Prime
The major urban development projects underway in Madrid are going to multiply the availability of office space in the capital. Madrid Nuevo Norte, the real estate plan from Aena and the work being planned in Las Tablas, Valdebebas and Pegaso will add 3.3 million m2 of office space to the existing supply in the capital. In this way, an increase of 25% is expected, according to a report compiled by Deloitte and reported by Expansión.
Currently, Madrid has an office surface area spanning 13 million m2, of which 9.5% is unoccupied. The average rent in the financial district amounts to €33/m2/month. Together with Barcelona, the city accounts for 85% of all office inventory in Spain, and is the largest business centre in the country by surface area, with more than twice as much space on offer than the Catalan capital.
In the short and medium term, 400,000 m2 of new space will be handed over in Madrid and almost 375,000 m2 in Barcelona, according to Deloitte. For the owners, it is not only important to create new supply, but also to attract new tenants, as well as to increase rents and the valuation of buildings through the transformation of spaces.
Of the major urban development projects underway in Madrid, Valdebebas is probably the most ambitious. It constitutes a business district, called Valdebebas Fintech District, spanning more than 1 million m2, which is also going to include hotel services. Besides that program, there is also a business centre being planned in Madrid Nuevo Norte, with three skyscrapers measuring 250m, 230m and 190m tall, respectively.
The renovation of the space also forms part of the regeneration project. Over the next four years, more than 300,000 m2 of office space in Madrid will be restored. In parallel, the owners of offices in Barcelona are planning to replace buildings with a surface area of more than 58,000 m2.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation: Carmel Drake