Skyline Madrid, also known as the Skyline Towers (Spanish: Torres Skyline) or simply Skyline, is a luxury housing estate along the Paseo de la Dirección in Madrid, Spain. The development consists of a pair of 100-metre (330 ft) twin towers along with two smaller buildings, featuring a mix of apartments both for rent and for sale along with several amenities.

Skyline Madrid
View from the west
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential
Architectural styleContemporary
LocationPaseo de la Dirección 161-246, Tetuán, Madrid, Spain
Coordinates40°28′6.4″N 3°42′29.2″W / 40.468444°N 3.708111°W / 40.468444; -3.708111
Construction started2020
Completed2022
Opening18 October 2022
Cost€200 million
OwnerStoneweg Spain S.L.
ManagementCBRE Real Estate S.A.
Bext Space
Height
Roof100 m (330 ft)
Technical details
Floor count25
Design and construction
Architect(s)Julio Touza Rodríguez
Architecture firmTouza Arquitectos
Main contractorDragados S.A.
Other information
Number of units600
Website
skyline-madrid.com

Located facing the Parque Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún in the Valdeacederas neighborhood of Tetuán, it is one of the most expensive housing developments of its kind in Spain.

History

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Planning for what would become Skyline Madrid dates back to 1997, when the Madrid city government created a plan to redevelop the Paseo de la Dirección corridor after a similar plan was made for the area around the Avenida de Asturias, which was expropriated by the government of the Community of Madrid in the late 1980s.[1]

In 2005, the city government announced the redevelopment of several tracts of land along the Paseo de la Dirección, involving the construction of some 1,700 new apartment units.[2] Development would proceed slowly for the next several years, one the one hand due to opposing approaches to how the land should be developed between the project's original developer, the People's Party-led conservative mayorships of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Ana Botella which led the initial planning process, and the succeeding Más Madrid-led progressive administration of Manuela Carmena,[3] and on the other due to resistance from affected residents whose properties were to be expropriated for the project.[1]

Stoneweg, a Swiss real estate development company and investment fund, purchased the land on which Skyline would be built from Dragados, the company developing the properties around the corridor, in December 2018,[4] paying some 120 million for a 45,000-square-metre (480,000 sq ft) plot of land.[5] The purchase is the most expensive land transaction in the city's history.[6]

Preparatory construction work began in November 2019,[7] with actual construction beginning in February 2020.[8] During construction, Stoneweg had attempted to sell the development to another developer for some €375 million but decided to cancel the sale prior to the development's completion.[9] Construction was completed in 2022, and Skyline was inaugurated on October 18, 2022.[10] Stoneweg was able to sell 95% of units available for sale prior to the development being completed,[11] but was less successful in attracting tenants to units for rent.[12]

On 3 May 2023, two people were injured in a brawl that took place in the development, one of whom was seriously injured after being slashed in the throat with a knife.[13]

Structure and amenities

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Skyline Madrid consists of two identical 100-metre (330 ft) towers with each tower containing 25 stories, of which 24 in each tower are habitable. The entire development has some 600 apartments, with 300 units consisting of one-, two- and three-bedroom units available per building.[14] On top of one of the buildings is an infinity pool, while another swimming pool is also found on the first floor,[15] alongside gardens with views of the Cuatro Torres Business Area.[16]

Several hotel-like amenities are found throughout the development, including a receptionist, a messaging service, a gym with personal trainers, and catering services.[17] Many of the units at both buildings also include a balcony.[14]

Reception

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Skyline was successful in attracting moneyed interests to the development, with football players, successful artists and even some of Spain's wealthiest people investing in units.[18] A number of units sold have even been counted as being among the most expensive property transactions in Madrid, with one penthouse apartment selling for €1.2 million despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's property market.[19]

Despite its success, the project has been criticized for contributing to gentrification in Tetuán, a historically working-class district. Some residents of Valdeacederas have complained that the development's residents aren't integrated into neighborhood life, and both rents and property sale prices at Skyline are significantly higher than average prices in the rest of Tetuán.[20] Many of those displaced by the project were compensated at below-market rates and could not afford to buy homes in other parts of the city,[21] and the project has been criticized for blocking the views of neighboring buildings and contributing to visual pollution, with the development's residents, who are wealthier and largely new to the neighborhood, being given a monopoly on picturesque views of the city to the detriment of their more established working-class neighbors.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Plaza, Analía (June 1, 2019). "Marisa, la última expropiada de Dragados en Tetuán: "No me iré hasta que me paguen el último céntimo"" [Marisa, the last to be expropriated by Dragados in Tetuán: "I will not go until I am paid to the last cent"]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "1.700 pisos sustituirán a las chabolas del Paseo de la Dirección" [1,700 apartments will replace the shacks of the Paseo de la Dirección]. El Mundo (in Spanish). September 8, 2005. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Esteban, Paloma (January 29, 2019). "Carmena pierde al menos 40 millones por el pelotazo de Florentino Pérez en Tetuán" [Carmena loses at least 40 million due to Florentino Pérez's quick sale in Tetuán]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Arroyo, Rebeca (October 10, 2019). "Skyline: El futuro rascacielos que ya bate récord en Madrid" [Skyline: the future skyscraper that has already beaten records in Madrid]. Expansión (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "Stoneweg ultima la compra a Dragados de suelo en Madrid por 120 millones" [Stoneweg finalizes purchase of land in Madrid from Dragados for 120 million]. EjePrime (in Spanish). December 14, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Pareja, Custodio; Martínez-Almeida, Paloma; Alarcos, Ana P. (December 13, 2018). "Récord histórico en Madrid: Stoneweg compra un suelo para levantar residencial de lujo por 130 millones" [Historical record in Madrid: Stoneweg buys property to build a luxury residential development for 130 million] (in Spanish). idealista.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "Stoneweg comienza las obras del proyecto Skyline e inicia la puja de constructoras" [Stoneweg begins works on Skyline project and starts bids for contractors]. EjePrime (in Spanish). November 12, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Stoneweg y M&G inician las obras del proyecto Skyline" [Stoneweg and M&G begin works on Skyline project]. EjePrime (in Spanish). February 5, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Simón Ruiz, Alfonso (September 28, 2022). "El fondo Stoneweg cancela la venta de Skyline, su proyecto estrella de alquiler" [Stoneweg fund cancels sale of Skyline, its star rental property project]. Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  10. ^ "Dos nuevas torres dibujan ya el nuevo 'skyline' madrileño en Tetuán" [Two new towers in Tetuán already draw the new Madrilenian 'skyline'] (in Spanish). Telemadrid. October 18, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Inauguradas las torres Skyline, el nuevo y lujoso vecino del distrito de Tetuán" [Skyline towers inaugurated, the new and luxurious neighbor of the Tetuán district]. Tetuán 30 Días (in Spanish). October 24, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Lospitao, Carlos (October 11, 2022). "Stoneweg vende el 95% de Skyline, pero no consigue hacer lo propio con la torre de alquiler" [Stoneweg sells 95% of Skyline, but did not get to do the same with the tower for rent] (in Spanish). idealista.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Dos heridos, uno de ellos al borde de la muerte, por reyerta con armas blancas en los nuevos rascacielos del Paseo de la Dirección" [Two injured, one to the point of death, in a brawl with cold weapons in the new skyscrapers of the Paseo de la Dirección]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). May 3, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Manahén García, Manuel (March 5, 2023). "El Skyline madrileño al detalle: 600 pisos y una inversión de 200 millones" [Madrid's Skyline in detail: 600 apartments and an investment of 200 million]. El Debate (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Jiménez, Rocío (December 9, 2022). "Skyline, las nuevas torres de viviendas de lujo de Madrid" [Skyline, Madrid's new luxury residential towers]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "Torres Skyline (Paseo de la Dirección, Madrid)" (in Spanish). Madrid Dealers. 8 September 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  17. ^ Del Barrio, Ana (October 18, 2022). "Dos rascacielos premium para Tetuán: 600 viviendas con servicios de hotel de lujo" [Two premium skyscrapers for Tetuan: 600 residences with luxury hotel services]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  18. ^ Fiter, Miguel (January 20, 2023). "Futbolistas, artistas y una gran fortuna: quién compra los pisos del nuevo bloque de lujo de Madrid" [Footballers, artists and a grand fortune: who are buying apartments in Madrid's new luxury block]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  19. ^ Lospitao, Carlos (July 15, 2020). "Venta récord en el 'cielo' de Madrid: 1,2 millones por un ático del proyecto Skyline" [Record sale in the 'sky' of Madrid: 1.2 million for a penthouse in the Skyline project] (in Spanish). idealista.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  20. ^ De la Cruz, Luis (October 19, 2022). "El barrio no estaba invitado a la fiesta: se estrena rascacielos con áticos de 1,5 millones en zona humilde de Madrid" [The neighborhood was not invited to the party: new skyscrapers with penthouses worth 1.5 million debut in a modest neighborhood of Madrid]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  21. ^ De la Cruz, Luis (October 5, 2022). "La historia de la ruinosa expropiación en Tetuán por cuyo derribo saca pecho Begoña Villacís" [The story of the ruinous expropriation in Tetuán where the rubble led Begoña Villacís to beat her chest]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  22. ^ De la Cruz, Luis (July 17, 2021). "Las vistas de la ciudad también son una cuestión de clases: el caso de la cornisa de Tetuán en el Paseo de la Dirección" [The city's vistas are also a question of class: the case of the corniche of Tetuán at the Paseo de la Dirección]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
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