Naples, two towers in the business centre sold. Investment of 45 million
The 55,000-square-metre facility will be used in large part as a student residence and in part as offices for large companies
by Vera Viola
A shake-up in the Neapolitan real estate market: the sale of the two A4 and B1 Towers of the Centro Direzionale di Napoli, two emblematic buildings with a total area of 55,000 square metres, has been concluded. The transaction entails a total investment between purchase and renovation of EUR 45 million: the development project envisages that the first six floors will be used as student halls of residence, which will be able to serve mainly Italian students off the premises and foreign students at the Academy in San Giovanni a Teduccio. While the remaining part up to the eighteenth floor will be put on the market for rental to large companies.
The towers were sold by Brixia Art Srl, a Brescia-based company headed by the Zani family engaged in the energy sector through the Liquigas group, and were purchased by two Neapolitan companies: AGC Immobiliare Srl linked to CNS Tech, which deals in video surveillance and is already involved in the Centro Direzionale in Naples, and M.& V. Investment Srl, the real estate arm of a manufacturing group in the leather processing sector. The transaction was advised by IPI Agency and Daimon RE and is financially supported by Banca Popolare di Torre del Greco (BCP). A few weeks ago, the buyers set up a special purpose company, Bridge Towers University Srl (BTU), which is based in Naples and led by Giuseppe Di Cintio as project manager: it will be in charge of the property conversion and management.
Designed by architect Nicola Pagliara between 1985 and 1990, the towers stand out for their sophisticated and innovative style, with steel, glass and granite cladding facades, and are connected by a glass and steel bridge that accentuates their architectural uniqueness: they still represent an important example of contemporary architecture and offer great potential for the redevelopment and functional conversion of the Centro Direzionale and the entire city of Naples.
The operation is part of a broader process of urban regeneration in the eastern part of the city, intended to open up new development prospects for the district. An objective that has long been declared and pursued by the junta led by Mayor Gaetano Manfredi. "We are convinced that the Centro Direzionale of Naples is finally starting up again _ says Alessandro Iuzzolino, head of Southern Italy at IPI Agency _ this conviction is reinforced by the recent million-dollar sales we have followed on the site, which exceed 90,000 square metres. These are investments by private individuals who are well acquainted with the area and the projects that have finally been implemented by the municipal administration: not least the opening of the Metro Line 1 stop. We are one of the few European cities to have such a central and well-connected business centre!'.
Built in the 1990s, the Naples business centre has in fact remained an unfinished building, burdened with heavy and costly management, with few functions, limited to public and private offices, disconnected from the rest of the city. "We are completing a variant to the master plan to expand the possible functions _ explains Laura Lieto, town planning councillor of the City of Naples _ It will then be possible to launch other activities such as hotels, gyms, student halls, for which there is great demand. We are also making a feasibility plan to recover roads, car parks, and public green spaces'. Finally, connections have improved over the past year, with the opening of the Line 6 metro station, while other work is underway on a second station and a connection to Capodichino airport.
