Madrid’s Town Hall Ratifies its Development Plan for SE

26 July 2018 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

The Plenary Session of the Town Hall of Madrid has approved alterations to the urban planning order in force for the Developments in the Southeast of the Spanish capital, thanks to the votes of Ahora Madrid and the PSOE. At the beginning of July, Madrid’s High Court of Justice (TSJM) provisionally suspended the Town Hall’s plan for this area.

The votes of Ahora Madrid and the PSOE were enough to approve a motion in the Plenary Session of the Town Hall of Madrid that seeks to adjust the growth of the Developments in the Southeast to the amenities, services and infrastructure demanded for the adequate development of urban life, whereby rationalising the Plan that has been provisionally suspended by the High Court.

“With this motion, we want to ratify the commitment with the criteria reflected in the document that should govern the construction of these developments”, explained the delegate for Sustainable Urban Development, José Manuel Calvo.

Meanwhile, the Compensation Boards that succeeded in getting the TSJM to stop the Plan confirm that if an amendment to the General Urban Plan is approved, then they will study the possibility of appealing and they will request the corresponding compensation.

In a statement, the same sources explain that “they lament” the path that the Town Hall is seeking to initiate. “If the modification is approved in the end, we will study the possibility of appealing the agreement and, at the same time, we will interpose the procedures of state liability to request the corresponding compensation”, they warn.

Nevertheless, they added that it is going to be “very difficult” for the Town Hall to justify the need to modify the plans, which is “a necessary requirement for its approval”.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sevilla’s Town Hall to Reclassify La Gavidia Police Station for Tertiary Use

18 July 2018 – Diario de Sevilla

The Urban Planning Department has sent the Ministry of the Environment the necessary documentation for the regional entity to prepare the mandatory report about the area surrounding La Gavidia. With this step, the process has been started to change the use of the former police station, which will become a tertiary use asset, as approved by the Town Hall.

The manager for Urban Planning, Ignacio Pozuelo, explained this morning that the change in La Gavidia’s classification will allow it to be used for a number of purposes, including for small and medium-sized businesses, offices, hotels, recreational use, cinemas, gym and public services.

The ownership and management of the venue are open to three formulae. They may both be public or private. The second option would involve the sale of the rationalist-style building. A third option would involve ceding only the management of the property to a private entity.

The environmental report is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Once it has been approved by the Regional Government, the PGOU will have to be modified to reflect the new classification, a long and complex process that will coincide with the local elections in 2019 and the start of the new mandate.

The current General Plan for Urban Planning (PGOU) classified Las Gavidia police station as a Service of Public and Social Interest (SIPS). Zoido’s majority government began the steps to change that classification into a large retail space. The elections in 2015 and the loss of the mayoral office by the PP put a halt to the process. Espadas’s team is now looking to classify the property for tertiary use, which would allow for it to be used in any of the ways mentioned above.

Original story: Diario de Sevilla (by Diego J. Géniz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colau to Force 30% of New Build Homes to be Allocated to Social Housing

13 June 2018 – La Vanguardia

The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, is going to force house builders that are constructing new homes or undertaking major renovation projects in the Catalan capital to allocate 30% of their buildings to social housing. This proposal from the Government’s team will be taken to the municipal plenary at the end of this month and threatens to generate a fierce legal battle between property developers and the Town Hall. The legal consequences are expected to be even more profound than those brought about by the Special Urban Plan for Tourist Accommodation (Peuat), which has been the subject of more than one hundred appeals.

The initiative proposes two modifications to the existing General Metropolitan Plan (PGM), which will need agreement from the municipal groups if they are to be approved initially. One of them establishes the bases to oblige private property developers to contribute to the creation of social housing. The other involves extending the Town Hall’s right of first refusal across the whole city, in such a way that the administration will have preferential rights for the acquisition of estates in all sale and purchase transactions.

This proposal can be traced back to a requirement launched a few months ago by the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH), which demanded that the Town Hall apply this percentage – 30% – to property developers in an obligatory to expand the public stock of housing. Ada Colau, who in February hired Carlos Macías, one of the spokesmen for the PAH, as an advisor, is hereby looking to satisfy that entity, for which she used to work as an activist and which has openly criticised her housing policies on more than one occasion.

Nevertheless, the urban modification project, which the BComú government has forged with the utmost secrecy and without the involvement of any trade associations or other affected agents, has infuriated the sector, which warns of the dangerous effects that this measure may generate. They include the risk of paralysing real estate activity at a time of recovery and the consequent legal battle to annul these plans.

The document, prepared by municipal experts in collaboration with Barcelona Regional, has been sent to municipal groups to start conversations and try to make progress in a meeting today towards its approval by the Urban Planning Committee next week. After overcoming that process, if the first obstacle is indeed overcome, the proposal will be discussed in the plenary. Even so, it still has a long way to go before it could come into force.

The modification would affect all new build or major renovation projects that have an urbanistic housing roof (surface area) of more than 600 m2, in practice, the vast majority of real estate developments in the city. According to the document, they would be obliged to “allocate at least 30% of those roofs to public housing”. The properties could be sold or leased but must be located in the same building (…). If the proposal goes ahead and overcomes all of the legal processes, it will become normal for residents of luxury homes in the city to live alongside residents of social housing properties (…).

If the current rate of construction in Barcelona continues over the next few years, if Ada Colau’s government manages to push through her proposal and if the inevitable legal appeals rule in favour of the Town Hall, then the initiative to allocate 30% of new build homes to social housing could increase the city’s public housing stock by 400 units per year. In 2017, 1,373 new homes were started in the Catalan capital (…).

Original story: La Vanguardia (by Silvia Angulo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

A Turning Point for the In Tempo Building in Benidorm

1 June 2018 – Diario Información

The In Tempo building in Benidorm is starting a new phase and putting an end to the previous phase that was fraught with economic and legal problems. The new company that acquired the property from the bad bank  Sareb has now received the green light to finish the construction work and start marketing the homes in the tallest residential building in Europe given that it has been officially granted all of the construction permits. In addition, the property developer behind the tower block, the company Olga Urbana, has also ceased to exist.

Just three days ago, the Town Hall of Benidorm, through a decree from the Councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, to which this newspaper has had access, approved the issue of the transfer of the urban planning licence that was previously held by Olga Urbana SL, the property developer behind the project, to the new company that owns the building, Teach Spire SLU.

That licence was granted to the former company in 2006 for the construction of a building comprising 269 homes, 398 parking spaces and 133 storerooms (…). The same decree also covers the transfer of the construction project from the former company in favour of the new owner. With this step, the new company now has all the rights and obligations in place resulting from the transfer of the licences.

Now, the new company has the green light to finish the construction work. The new owner of the In Tempo building in Benidorm, the firm SVP Global, forecasts that the property will become a reality within 12 months and that it will be able to start marketing the 269 homes before the summer, according to a statement issued in April.

In the autumn, the Company for the Management of Assets proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System (Sareb) sold the property’s debt to SVP Global for more than €60 million. The bad bank had been left with a loan amounting to €108 million five years ago albeit secured by the tallest building in the Community of Valencia.

The project, which was first approved almost a decade ago, has a 93% completion rate and what has been built is in a good condition despite the fact that the construction work was suspended four years ago after the Alicante-based property developer Olga Urbana filed for bankruptcy (…).

Not only has a chapter been closed for In Tempo in terms of the building permits, but also, the property developer Olga Urbana has also ceased to exist following its bankruptcy. The Official Gazette of the Mercantile Registry (Borme) of Alicante published the inscription of the dissolution of the company yesterday, issued by Mercantile Court number 1 in Alicante, a process that was started in 2014, according to the publication (…).

Original story: Diario Información (by A. Vicente)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Town Hall of Málaga & Sareb Agree to Constitute a Compensation Board for the Repsol Plots

10 May 2018 – Sareb

The Town Hall of Málaga and Sareb held a meeting this morning in Málaga to continue with the steps required to develop the land that they co-own in the city, on the site of the so-called Repsol plots.

At the meeting, both parties agreed to constitute a Compensation Board for these plots to push ahead with the environmental improvement and urban development projects, the latter of which will include a large urban park in the first phase located between the districts of Carretera de Cádiz and Cruz de Humilladero.

The mayor of the city, Francisco de la Torre, attended the meeting, along with the councillors for Town Planning, Environmental Sustainability and the district of Carretera de Cádiz, Francisco Pomares, José del Río and Raúl Jiménez, respectively. For its part, Sareb was represented by the Director of Institutional Relations, Soledad Borrego, the Director of Real Estate Development, Andrés Benito, and the Director of Legal Counsel for Transactions and Real Estate Management, Jesús Cantal. Experts from both sides also attended.

Original story: Sareb

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa Sells Tertiary-Use Plot in Barcelona for €22M

26 April 2018 – La Vanguardia

Metrovacesa has sold a plot of tertiary-use land in Barcelona, located in the 22@ district of the Catalan Capital, to the property developer La Llave de Oro for €22 million, according to a statement from the real estate company.

The company in which Santander and BBVA hold stakes says that with this transaction, it has now achieved 75% of the total land sales target that it set itself for 2018.

Metrovacesa has closed the sale of this land after completing all of its urban planning management procedures in December. The plot forms part of a portfolio of tertiary-use land owned by the real estate company spanning 1.3 million and worth around €700 million, which represents 27% of its total portfolio.

Original story: La Vanguardia

Translation: Carmel Drake

Nyesa’s Share Price Soars by 23% as it Announces Negotiations with Spanish Investor

9 March 2018 – Eje Prime

The stock market is rewarding Nyesa. The company has seen its share price soar by 23% due to negotiations with a Spanish investor. The company has informed Spain’s National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) that it is negotiating an investment contract to not only carry out a non-monetary capital increase but also to incorporate new real estate assets into its portfolio in Spain.

“The investment contract establishes that the capital increase is conditional upon Nyesa considering that the technical, legal, tax, labour, financial and urban planning reviews of the assets to be contributed are undertaken in a completely satisfactory way”, say sources at the group. “Moreover, the deal will also be subject to the investor accepting the new valuation of the assets to be contributed, based on a preliminary valuation of more than €17 million”, they conclude.

The forecast issue rate for the capital increase is €0.060 per share (of which €0.015 corresponds to the nominal value and €0.045 to the issue premium). In this regard, it was also reported that as a consequence of the execution of the capital increase, the investor would reach a percentage stake of less than 13% in the share capital of Nyesa Valores Corporación.

The operation forms part of the process to search for partners, investors and real estate projects that help to define and support the strategy and strengthen the development of the company’s business. Specifically, with the execution of this capital increase, the company’s equity position would be strengthened through the incorporation of assets that generate recurrent income.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa Starts Building Offices Again

2 December 2017 – Expansión

Metrovacesa, which is controlled by Santander and BBVA, is looking to generate value from its tertiary (non-residential) portfolio of land and resume the development of offices. The real estate company plans to start construction of 37,000 m2 of space on tertiary land in Madrid and Barcelona.

The company, which has been focused on house building until now, owns more than 1,317,000 m2 of tertiary land, with an approximate value of €684 million. Of the total, it plans to allocate approximately 83% to offices and 10% to hotels.

In this way, in November, Metrovacesa completed the sale of an office under construction to the Socimi Axiare for €29.7 million. That property, located at number 40 Calle Josefa Valcárcel in Madrid, has a leasable area of 8,652m2, spread over seven floors and 261 parking spaces. The firm plans to hand over the asset during the last quarter of 2018.

Metrovacesa’s land does not require any urban planning permissions, and so the plots are very liquid and ready for construction to begin, allowing a quick response to the most important demands that may arise in the market.

“Our team has more than 20 years of experience in these assets, and so we are in a privileged position to maximise value through a sustainable proposal that follows the latest trends and that knows how to take advantage of the current potential in that market”, explained María Ruiz Gallardo, Director of Tertiary Assets at Metrovacesa.

Metrovacesa’s portfolio of tertiary land accounts for 25% of the total value of its assets, which amount to €2.6 billion.

These plots proceed from both the former Metrovacesa, as well as from the contributions made by the shareholder banks.

In this way, the new Metrovacesa emerged following the carve out of the land business from the 100-year old real estate company, which integrated the rest of its activities with Merlin. Metrovacesa’s shareholders decided to give the company a significant boost, with the contribution of new land worth €1.108 billion in June. Santander owns a 70% stake in Metrovacesa, having taken over the 9.21% held by Popular, whilst BBVA controls 29.6%.

Following this injection, which was articulated through a non-monetary capital increase, Metrovacesa now owns a portfolio of buildable land spanning 6 million m2 for the construction of more than 40,000 homes. Its main rivals, Neionr and Aedas, own land with the capacity to build 12,000 and 13,000 homes, respectively.

Metrovacesa, which plans to return to the stock market in February, has convened an extraordinary shareholders meeting for 19 December, when it plans to give the green light to the request for admission to the stock market of the company’s shares.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Five Offers Submitted for c/Ramón Carande Plot in Sevilla

27 November 2017 – Diario Sevilla

The offers that have been presented by the five business groups that are participating in the exchange of the plot located on Ramón Carande, tendered by the Municipal Housing Company of Sevilla (Emvisesa), range between €7,010,000 and €9,926,094, including cash, land and finished homes.

On this plot, which is worth €7 million and which had space for the construction of just 68 homes initially, Juan Espadas has decided to exchange the land for development (…) with the aim of building 400 homes.

In this way, according to municipal sources, the envelopes containing the economic offers presented by the bidders have now been opened by the ‘Cesa de Contratación’. At the event, which was very well attended, representatives from the five bidding entities were present, including from Inmobiliaria del Sur SA, Abu Capital 2000 SL, Vía Celere Desarrollos Inmobiliarios SA, Salvo Global Property SL and Urbanismo y Promoción Meridional SL, as well as the managers of Gaesco and Inmobiliaria Viapol SA.

The values of the economic offers from the companies range between €7,010,000 and €9,926,094. Moreover, the valuation includes cash, land and finished homes that Emvisesa will receive in exchange for the land on Ramón Carande.

In this context, of the technical and urban planning documentation relating to these properties, the appraisal and report have been submitted to Emvisesa’s technical services for analysis, prior to the award, in accordance with the tender document that governs the procedure.

The aim of this exchange operation is that the sum of the homes obtained through this triple route allows the number of homes in the public stock to be increased by more than 400, whereby multiplying the number of dwellings authorised for the plot on Ramón Carande by six. Moreover, given that some of these 400 homes are already finished, Emvisesa should have a reasonable number of homes available immediately.

Original story: Diario Sevilla

Translation: Carmel Drake

New Urban Planning PGOU Approved for Málaga

25 November 2017 – Diario Sur

Following the annulment of the PGOU approved in 2010, the route map towards the normalisation of urban planning in Marbella has taken a step forward with the initial approval of some new urban planning rules. The latest document seeks to “update” the plan approved in 1986, which is still valid now and which will serve as the basis for drafting the new PGOU that the city needs. The process, which was approved by the plenary with votes in favour from the government’s team (PP and OSP) and the PSOE, and votes against from IU and Costa del Sol Sí Puede, must now be completed with text from the provincial delegation of the Junta’s Environment Board, prior to the issuance of a mandatory report. Subsequently, it will be presented to the plenary again for definitive approval (…).

In practice, and as the councillor for Land Planning, María Francisca Caracuel, explained, modifications have been made to the framework, amongst others, “which affect many homes” and which mean that “extensions, improvements and renovations will now be allowed” on buildings that were left out of the guidelines after the 2010 plan was annulled.

Another change will affect plots of land, for which it is not currently possible to grant construction licences because no approved urban planning projects exist, in accordance with the plan approved in 1986 “even though, in reality, they are already partially developed”. In these cases, the common rules open the door for the plots to be developed, by submitting an urbanisation work project “which is less complex and which can be processed in less time”.

The new rules will authorise hospitality use on the first floors of homes in the Casco Antiguo (Old Town) and will allow hotel establishments to expand their facilities onto adjoining plots even if the use of those sites is not strictly for hotel purposes (…).

Established urban plots

In the field of urban planning, the plenary also ratified (with votes in favour from the government team, against from IU and CSSP, and abstentions from the PSOE) the proposal made by the Councillor for Land Planning to incorporate established urban plots into the urban development plans, after they have been declared as such by binding legal rulings, administrative declarations, own acts, plenary agreements or by the Local Government. The councillor insisted that, given that it does not require any structural changes, there is no need for the document to be subjected to a new public consultation period, as had been requested by the other municipal groups.

In other matters, the municipal corporation also gave the green light, unanimously, to the proposal from the deputy mayor of San Pedro Alcántara, Rafael Piña (…) to begin the paperwork for the construction of a new secondary school in the south of San Pedro (…).

Finally, the plenary also approved, amongst other items, a proposal from IU to create a network of roads to connect the urbanisations between Bello Horizonte and Elviria, to form a 10km network that will offer a safe alternative to the A-7 motorway, which is “always packed and dangerous”.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Mónica Pérez)

Translation: Carmel Drake