Santiago de Chile: Ibañez family’s mega-project in Las Condes gets green light

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It is one of the most iconic real estate projects currently in the pipeline in Chile. On the northwest corner of Manquehue and Apoquindo Avenues, the real estate company Indesa, linked to the brothers Nicolás and Felipe Ibáñez Scott (former owners of the Líder supermarkets), is planning the development of a complex that includes housing, offices, and retail. The investment exceeds US$170 million.

At the end of last year, the Directorate of Municipal Works (DOM) of Las Condes granted the building permit, which means that the company already has the green light to start construction of the initiative. But the real estate company maintains total secrecy about its development.

“The construction department of the Municipality of Las Condes has granted us the building permit for the ALMA project, to be carried out at the intersection of Apoquindo, Manquehue, and Alonso de Córdova streets, which will have open spaces for the community. We will continue to work in the stages that we have defined, according to the times we have determined for this project”, said the real estate company officially when asked about the start date of the works on the land where for years a Lider supermarket was located.

The company had managed to get the DOM of Las Condes to approve its preliminary project at the end of 2019. At that time, the firm had indicated that the next step was to obtain the building permit and, with that in hands to reveal the construction deadlines.

“Once we obtain the building permit, we will be able to give a start date to the construction works, since the approval of the preliminary project, granted by the Municipality of Las Condes, does not entitle us to start the works,” he said on that occasion. But, so far, everything is still on hold.

According to those familiar with Indesa’s project, the real estate company is seeking to add a financing partner, for which it has already initiated contacts with foreign investors.

The same sources consulted explain that it has already been agreed that Líder will return to its historic location and operate in part of the commercial plate of this project, located in the first subway level of the complex.

It would allow the commercial premises to absorb the flow of people coming from the Manquehue Station since the initiative considers building a direct connection with the subway.

MARKET SITUATION

Local real estate market agents point out that today it is difficult to start a project of this magnitude, including two buildings of more than 20 floors (for 225 apartments and 72 offices) and a commercial plate with 42 stores. All this adds up to a built-up area of a little more than 83,800 square meters on a site of some 7,000 square meters, as authorized by the local authorities.

The industry highlights the price increases experienced by a large part of the construction materials, mainly steel, which has raised the budgets of emblematic works, such as Territoria Urban Market, on the corner of El Bosque and Apoquindo Avenues.

But the most complicated aspect for this type of project, according to the sector, is the complex situation of the office business: the vacancy rate closed last year at 13%, according to Colliers data, a historically high figure for the local industry. And projections for this year are not very encouraging in the medium term, as it is predicted that the indicator could be slightly higher than that observed during 2021.