Real Estate Funds Propose a 500 Million Euro Investment For Project MADBIT, a New District Concept

The main owners of the industrial area known as Julián Camarillo, to the east of Madrid’s M-30 ring, propose an innovative project to transform the area into a digital district named MADBIT. The project is inspired in regeneration initiatives such as Barcelona’s 22@ district as well as London’s Kings Cross. The necessary investment would require 500 million euros of which 70% would be financed by private capital.

MADBIT is a mixed district comprising 165 hectares in which tertiary activity predominates integrated with mostly industrial use and some residential areas.  The location is very strategic within the city as it lies between the M-30 and M-40 rings, with excellent transport connectivity and proximity to the airport.

The association was created in 2017 with the main objective of creating modern, innovative, and flexible spaces to strategically concentrate science, technology and business activities. In this way generating synergies to increase Madrid’s competitiveness and enable its leadership.

The engineer Arup will be the project leader which is based on three main areas: urban regeneration, decarbonization and digital economy. As the transition towards more sustainable energy is set at the forefront of the project one of the measures will be the implementation of a small renewable power plant by Repsol exclusive to the area.

Partners involve Iba Capital, Barings, Patrizia, Starwood or Meridia Capital where the founder, Javier Faus, is the president of the association. Real estate members include Torre Rioja, Bouygues Inmobiliaria, Realia or Therus. As well as real estate consultants including BNP Paribas Real Estate, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills, Colliers and JLL.

Torre Rioja who specializes in sustainable and innovative buildings has become a key developer in the area with three newly constructed office buildings, two under construction as well as a residential building. The OM ‘Infinito’ business complex has recently opened with 39,000m² and a LEED platinum certification, becoming the biggest office building in Madrid and one of the most efficient in Europe and America. That is why Moderna has chosen it to establish its first quality laboratory outside of the US adjacent to its Spanish partner Rovi.

Another of Torre Rioja’s projects will opening in Calle Valentín Beato 21 with 4,800m² and will be occupied by Editorial Anaya, one of Spain’s biggest publishing houses, as they base their headquarters in MADBIT. This established street already has already attracted other tenants such as Quiron, Nissan, Kia, Ibis and many others. Other important tenants in the district include Roche, Bosch, Indra, Interxion, Telefónica, Ferrovial, Dragados (ACS) or IBM.

The aim is for 30% of the financing to be from public capital, the initiative could include benefitting from the European Union Next Generation funds according to Arup. The owner association and Arup have presented the project to the local government with the aim of creating an agency dedicated to the regeneration of the district. Talks with the city council are still taking place as there exist different accounts by both parties as to how these advance.