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68 // iberian.propery / 2017
dossier// ISSUE: TOP IBERIAN cities
22@, the new top
business district
in Barcelona
The project is converting 200 hectares of industrial land in
the El Poble Nou zone into an innovative district that offers modern spaces
for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities.
This initiative is both an urban regeneration project and a new citymodel
that aims to meet the challenges of the knowledge society.
It is the city of Barcelona’s most important urban transformation project
in recent years and one of the most ambitious of its type in Europe, with
high real estate potential and a public investment of 180 million euros
in the infrastructure plan.
22@, one of Barcelona’s new business districts, is mostly under con-
struction and offers an extraordinary urban and metropolitan centrality.
It is connected with Avenida Diagonal, Barcelona’s principal business
axis, whose first section connects two core hubs: Plaza de les Glòries,
the city’s future cultural and administrative centre, and the Centro de
Convenciones Internacional de Barcelona (the largest convention centre
in southern Europe).
The district will be accessible to 4.4 million people through
public transport in less than one hour and guarantees excellent urban,
metropolitan and international accesses, through its comprehensive
transport network.
The most sought after office submarket in Barcelona
22@ is the office submarket in highest demand in Barcelona, not only
among users, but also investors and developers.
Rents are responding upwards, while developers are reactivating new
developments: in 2016, rents in the financial district increased 12.1% and
23% of operations were registered in this zone.
The has always played an important role in office take-up in the
city. According toCushman &Wakefield, in 2016 a total of 71 rental operations
were completed in 22@, adding up to 76.000m² (23%of the total inBarcelona).
There is great demand to establish in this zone and interest has increased
since last year. During 2016, 33% of operations in Barcelona above 2.000
m² took place at 22@. And at the close of 2016 and end of the first quarter
of 2017, there is firm interest in the area from companies that require large
spaces. This type of offer is fragmented and the situation is driving the
development of new spaces.
In 2016 the 22@ district
attained a record
investment volume
of € 930 million