Albufeira Marina will be «completely different» by next summer and will even have a waterfall. The infrastructure works of the 2nd phase of the Detailed Plan for the Recreational Port of Albufeira will start this month, with the aim of making the site the third «nervous center» of the city.
After a period of financial difficulties, which forced Marina de Albufeira to enter into a Special Revitalization Plan in 2013, the infrastructure is now looking to rebuild itself. João Amaral, manager of the marina, explained to the Sul Informação that, "with this PER, it was possible to outline a 20-year recovery plan, which foresees, from the outset, the financing of the construction of the second phase, and, with the agreement of the main creditors, it was allowed to raise the subdivision permits ».
According to João Amaral, «with these urbanization works, conditions are created for the Marina to be able to market the lots of hotels, because until now we had none to sell and we now have two, one with 250 rooms, another with 160, as well as the lots of an aparthotel with 110 apartments and a set of tourist apartments and villas».
Although there are still no guaranteed investors, the official told our newspaper that “a hotel group has expressed interest in renting a hotel that has already been built. If we get an investor to build the hotel, they guarantee the exploration for a period of 20 years. It is a very large chain, known worldwide, but nothing has been signed yet».
The infrastructure of the subdivisions is guaranteed, which will cost around 5 million euros. “Until September, October, we will have the entire second phase of the Marina infrastructure”, guarantees the administrator.
According to João Amaral, this second phase “has less construction density. It will have a two-hectare garden, two football fields with official measurements, which will create a very green area. On the other hand, we had planned, in the Detailed Plan, a lake with 7000 square meters, but the City Council understood that, given maintenance difficulties, we should not build the lake but rather build a square to be used for concerts and events in Albufeira» .
These works will create, explains the administrator, “a completely different marina, which will have nothing to do with what it was two years ago. Last year, we already renewed the decks, which is not yet completed and which already gives a completely different picture. Perhaps for this reason, the interest of entrepreneurs in the stores can be seen. There has been a dynamic in recent years that has allowed the marina to change its face and, whoever comes this summer, will see the waterfall, the most well-prepared western area, the decks all with equal layout».
Anyone visiting the Marina de Albufeira “with a fresh face” will also find life in the shops, since, after a period in which a large part of it was abandoned, the occupation started to grow again. “By 2013, of the 34 stores in the marina we had, 10 or 12 were open. We have developed a strategy for placing stores and, this year, 33 of the stores under our responsibility will open. The 34th, in principle, will also be open, but it belongs to a customer to whom it was sold. In other words, we went from 30% of occupied stores to 97 or 100%», emphasizes João Amaral.
The official believes that this “rebirth” of the Marina de Albufeira will bring more people to the place, because «the more stores we have, the more attractive it becomes for people to come here. We already have families who come on weekends with their children, because this is one of the few marinas that does not allow cars to enter its surroundings. They come as a family and, while the children play freely, the parents have coffee, lunch or dinner on the terraces».
For now, the occupied stores are "essentially catering", but in the future, "a Shopping Center will be born in one of the lots and there will be all kinds of underlying stores".
If, in 2017, the objective is to attract people to the location where the Marina de Albufeira exists, João Amaral believes that, within a few years, the scenario could change radically: «Albufeira has two nerve centers: the city center and the Oura area. We understand that we can be the third nerve center in Albufeira, either because of the marina itself, or because of its surroundings with its shops, restaurants and bars, or because of the hotels that are about to be born and that will allow people to stay here. This area is expected to accommodate 4000 people per day, it is already a very large neighborhood. In a first phase, we are going to bring people from the center to the marina, but in 20 years, maybe, the flow will be people going to the center».
João Amaral says that the administration is “confident that the lots are attractive, but we are not putting much pressure on their sale, as it will have to be a prime area of the city. In order to be, it must have the means for it and the time to be born as such. In our PER, we place sales very late, it is not expected that it will be necessary to sell at all costs. The objective is to sell with discretion, to bring quality to the Marina de Albufeira».
Although the administration's objective is not construction, but the sale of lots, João Amaral admits that, «maybe, it's worth starting to think about building ourselves. It is not a given, but it is a path that is not completely closed. Let's see what the market gives us, if it allows the lots to fit. If you don't allow it, I have no doubts that our path will have to pass through us building and selling in installments. It seems to me, in my personal understanding, that it will be more difficult to sell a plot of 5 million euros, than an apartment for 100 or 200 thousand. Maybe, with 20 of these apartments, we do the same amount».
If in terms of real estate investment, the last years of Marina de Albufeira were not famous, in terms of the occupation of mooring posts, the scenario is different. «The marina's surroundings had, in the past, a handicap the lack of people was very big, but at the level of the “marina” business… those were all my problems. In terms of mooring posts, we have the best occupation of the four marinas in the Algarve. We spent the whole year with 84% occupancy and it is a business that has growth potential, both in terms of prices and in terms of improvements to the marina. My problem is the real estate around and the lack of people in the surrounding real estate», concludes João Amaral.
See the project's virtual images, already with the lots built:
Comments