Tag: Wanda Group

Jianlin Presents His Plans For Edificio España

29 January 2015 – Expansión

The Wanda Group, controlled by the Chinese magnate Wang Jianlin, will invest €114 million on the refurbishment of the Edificio España in Madrid and a further €30 million on the project to regenerate the surrounding area.

The plans of the Chinese businessman Wang Jianlin, owner of the Wanda Group holding company, to convert the Edificio España in Madrid into a luxury hotel, residential and retail complex, take an important step forwards today. The Executive of the Community of Madrid will discuss the modification to the General Urban Development Plan at their Government Board meeting. Following approval by the Town Hall of Madrid, it is expected that the Government of Ignacio González will also vote favourably.

The proposal, presented by the Santander Group (which owned the building until last summer, when it sold it to Wang Jianlin for €265 million) and supported by Wanda Madrid Development (which formalised the purchase of the building before a notary of 30 July) will result in changes not only to the historical building in the capital, but also to the area surrounding it.

Jianlin has committed, together with other businesses, such as the VP Group, controlled by Vicente Pérez, to finance some of costs of the area’s regeneration, which includes the expansion of the pedestrian area (by 12,500 sqm) and the construction of an underground walkway between Calle Ferraz and Calle Bailén. Jianlin will contribute around €30 million of the total €79.5 million to be invested, according to sources close to proceedings. 51% will be borne by the concessionary companies to be awarded the new car park in the area, according to the Town Hall.

In addition to the €265 million Wanda paid Santander to acquire the property and the €30 million it will invest in the regeneration of the plaza, the Chinese group will invest a further €114.085 million in the renovation of the building, designed by the architectural firms Foster and Lamela, which have worked together before on other projects, such as the construction of Terminal T4 at Madrid’s Barajas airport.

Comprehensive renovation

The Edificio España will be fully refurbished on the inside (the building will be completely gutted), whilst on the outside, only the main façade will remain, together with part of the sides and the existing chamfer on the rear façade (located between Calle los Reyes and Calle Maestro Guerrero).

The new project will put an end to the rear façade, designed as a “comb”, which creates five interim patios and provides access to the San Marcos church and the neighbourhood of San Bernardo from Plaza de España.

In addition, the new Edificio de España will have almost 10,000 sqm of underground space, which will be used to expand the parking area, increasing it from its current size of 2,473 sqm to 12,000 sqm, which will result in 318 more parking spaces.

In exchange for the extension of the car park, Wanda must grant 10% of this space to the Town Hall for public use or pay for that space separately. According to the proposal presented to the town hall, the Chinese investor will choose the second option.

The size of the residential area, which will include around 380 homes, and the hotel space will barely change: decreasing from 40,883 sqm to 37,916 sqm in the case of the former and from 22,720 sqm to 22,000 sqm in the case of the hotel.

The main change proposed by Wanda will affect the retail area, whose space will be increased from 3,687 sqm to almost 15,000 sqm. The aim is to create a “large retail space” between the ground floor and the third floor. “We expect to house a variety of retail activity, primarily clothing and accessory stores”, they say in the proposal.

The building work will take place between 2016 and 2020 and it is expected that the homes will be completed between 2019 and 2021. The construction work is expected to create almost 4,000 jobs, between direct and indirect roles. Once completed, 185 people will work in the hotel and retail space in the Edificio España.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barceló To Operate The Torre Madrid Hotel

18 January 2015 – Cinco Días

Metrovacesa and Barceló Hotels & Resorts signed a 20-year lease contract on Friday morning for the operation of the future hotel in the Torre Madrid, built by Metrovacesa in the Plaza de España in 1957.

The companies report that the hotel will provide superior four star accommodation, with 256 rooms, a cafeteria, a restaurant, a spa, meeting rooms and common areas.

“Metrovacesa plans to undertake major investment in the refurbishment of the first 9 floors of the building, covering approximately 22,000 square metres, with the aim of converting the hotel into a destination of choice in Madrid, unique in its design and facilities”, the companies report in a statement. The new Barceló hotel will operate alongside luxury apartments, which occupy the top floors of the building, and will become the chain’s fourth hotel in Madrid.

In 2011, Metrovacesa, a then listed company, informed the CNMV about the sale of homes in Torre Madrid for €28.7 million. The cheapest home in Torre Madrid, covering around 80 square metres, cost €530,000. The most expensive home occupies 240 square metres. The height and orientation determine the final price of homes of a similar size.

In 2005, Metrovacesa put two of Madrid’s most famous skyscrapers, the Edificio España and the Torre Madrid, up for sale. Santander acquired the Edificio España for €389 million in the same year; and last year the entity agreed the sale of the building to the Chinese group, Wanda, for €265 million.

Original article: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake

Chinese Billionaire Jianlin Unveils Plans to Build 15.000 Dwellings in Madrid

12/12/2014 – Expansion

Old terrains of the Ministry of Defense in the area of Campamento, in the south-west part of Madrid, could soon become a new high-end residential zone. At least, this is the ambicious plan of China’s richest Wang Jianlin (pictured), the owner of the iconic Edificio España building in Madrid.

Through their business conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, Jianlin and his closest partners have been searching for the perfect location for months. They want to raise a residential and leisure complex inspired by other developments created in China. The project requires 2 million square meters and a 6 billion euro investment.

The estate, unlike the disastrous Eurovegas mega-operation, will be based on residential purpose with 15.000 luxury homes. Their prices will post around 4.000 euros per square meter. Apart from all services and priviledges, the complex will also offer its own entertainment areas, including theme parks, shopping malls and even casinos. ‘The projects of Dalian Wanda pivot around stadiums development, movie theaters and art and cinema theme parks. Surely his model can be copied out of Asia, once adopted to other markets and their customs, like the U.S. or Europe. However, due to the real estate bubble burst, we must take a cautious approach to Spain‘, explained Patricio Palomar, Head of Alternative Investment at CBRE Spain.

Location

The luxury minicity will stand on the land formerly carrying military headquarters called Campamento, an area where prices are much more affordable but the location was the closest to Madrid’s center among other land options.

The talks between Wang Jianlin and various Public Administration units (State, Regional and Local) are still ongoing. The 9 million square meter scope of land underlying negotiations belongs to the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry of Public Works bought them in 2011 for 150.5 million euros for construction of 10.700 dwellings, of which 7.000 were supposed to represent public housing. Finally, the venture petered away and in May 2013 the land returned to the Defense.

 

Original story: Expansión (by R. Ruiz)

Translation: AURA REE