The works are advancing at great speed in Diagonal 471, which for more than half a century was a shopping center –first Sears, then Galerías Preciados and El Corte Inglés– and between the end of this year and the beginning of next year it will be reborn as an office complex with commercial floors and restoration. This great transformation, which will mean a leap in scale in the offer of this type in the Eixample, coincides in time with other comprehensive reforms that will give new life to such emblematic buildings as the Sabadell tower, Estel and -this one more delayed- the Three Xemeneies of Paral·lel. Together they will represent more than 87,000 square meters for tertiary activity in state-of-the-art spaces that replace others that have become obsolete.
"It had been a long time since there had been so many projects of this type in such a short period of time, unique buildings that have been converted into high-level offices," says Xavier Güell, director of the real estate management company CBRE in Barcelona, who highlights the importance of renovating the supply of tertiary activity in central areas, where there is a strong demand for this type of asset. "These are well-known buildings - he adds - which, when they recover, will boost the office market and take it to another stadium and energize its environment".
22@ and the seafront of Poblenou is the area with the greatest investment in offices in Barcelona. In the second quarter of this 2023, it concentrated 37% of the total. The availability of land allows building from scratch, which makes things easier to meet all the requirements that are requested today. The city center, the second most sought-after area after the CBD (Central Business District), concentrated 34%.
"Until recently, the level of demand for offices was low, but this has changed in the last five years, now they are asking for quality seals for energy efficiency, sustainability, as well as amenities for employees, terraces...", explains Albert Blanch, founding partner of Blanch Conca Arquitectura (BCA), the office that designed the renovations of Diagonal 471 and Estel. "85% of this type of property in the city - he recalls - do not meet these standards." In most cases, especially in the Eixample, he continues, "they can only be achieved with comprehensive reforms because it is not enough to change the hall, the tuning no longer deceives anyone." Thus, he concludes, "the few that catch up are very attractive."
The case of Diagonal 471 is paradigmatic. Its owners, Mersan Assets Management, with local capital, have promoted a change of uses to adapt to the demands in the area. With 14,000 square meters of offices and 6,000 commercials, it will be, in the opinion of Xavier Güell, "the spearhead for breaking prices in the CBD, which will be above 35 euros per square meter" (now it is at 30 ).
The reform devised by BCA in Diagonal 471 goes beyond what MBM did in 2004, opening all its façades to the outside. To the offer, with plants of up to 3,000 square meters, unusual magnitudes in this area, the commercial and restoration will be added. The first, facing the Diagonal, is designed for leading international brands. Some double-level entrances stand out. The second, on Buenos Aires street, will have large terraces. All of this, together with El Corte Inglés, which will return this Christmas with a new supermarket concept, is expected to invigorate the environment.
Very close, in Diagonal/Balmes, also in the CBD, this June the Sabadell tower began to be refurbished, which was the headquarters of the bank of the same name –it will maintain the first three floors and the 22nd– now, in the hands of the US real estate fund Hines, which will be used for commercial rental for the first time. It is intended, above all, for boutique law firms, private banks, highly representative firms... The forecast is to complete the works in the third quarter of next year. Here it is not the spaciousness of the floors that stands out –they are about 400 square meters–, but rather the height –83 meters, 24 floors– and its magnificent views. It will have about 11,000 square meters of offices. This iconic skyscraper, designed by the architect Francesc Mitjans for the then Banco Atlántico, opened in 1969, had become old and half empty. The intervention, designed by Batlleiroig, includes a gym, bicycle parking, meeting rooms, two outdoor terraces on the third floor and on the roof, a sky lobby...
The third building underway is the largest in the entire city dedicated to offices. This is the Estel building, owned by the German real estate investment manager FREO and the American fund Bain Capital Credit. It was also devised by Mitjans –it was built between 1972 and 1975– and is now being renovated by BCA with plans to finish the work by the end of 2024. In total, it will provide almost 42,000 square meters of offices spread over individual floors of up to 5,000, unique dimensions in Barcelona, where some 4,000 people will work. The complex is in the area considered the city center, very close to the Sants station, which makes it very attractive and it is expected that it will also set maximum rents in this area, above 25 euros per square meter.
Since Telefónica left it, in 2011, the Estel building has suffered severe degradation and, being left with only its skeleton standing, languished, turned into a ghostly building. Now it will be reborn as a tertiary complex with a large number of services, from a gym to an assembly hall and a restaurant offer with terraces that is also expected to energize an area that is eminently residential. As an added attraction, it is planned to open large landscaped balconies with views and a rooftop on the roof, with public access.
Finally, the Tres Xemeneies del Paral.lel, by the Spanish-German firm Conren Tramway. The complex was the headquarters of Endesa and since it left, in 2012, it has been abandoned, also with only the structure still standing. After some complex negotiations with the City Council, the classification was changed so that it could accommodate offices (previously it only admitted infrastructure services; from supply companies such as electricity, water or gas, for example). It will have 20,300 square meters, designed by Batlleiroig. The main attraction of this is its industrial character –the chimneys, which belonged to La Canadenca, were built between 1881 and 1912–, which is usually of interest to international companies, not only technological and coworking companies. It could also house dependencies of some public administration. The Generalitat still needs to give the green light to the urban modification and the building permits must be processed. The property would like to have everything finished by 2025, but does not dare to confirm it.
