The block, circumscribed by Largo do Pelourinho, rua Visconde de Anadia and Travessa da Malta, will be fully rehabilitated and requalified, with a total investment of around 60 million euro from Savoy, one of Group AFA’s companies.
The municipality greenlighted the project this Thursday, during a city hall meeting, according to JM Madeira, and it also received the Regional Directorate for Culture’s assent. Quoted by the same source Mayor Miguel Silva Gouveia mentioned that «with the Regional Directorate for Culture’s greenlight, the area’s urban renewal will continue, including the 60 million euro investment».
The project will create the new Savoy Residence Insular, consisting of four interconnected individual blocks. Construction works are expected to take one year and a half, according to DN.
This undertaking is part of the urban renewal strategy Funchal’s Municipality has been developing since 2014. The city’s historical centre’s rehabilitation program, called Cidade Com Vida (City With Life), set a 1.13 sq. km Urban Renewal Area in the city’s downtown, covering the historic centres of Santa Maria Maior, Sé, São Pedro and Santa Luzia.
Up until now, around 150 buildings were rehabilitated and a further 70 are undergoing rehabilitation within the downtown area alone.
One other great project on which Group AFA is involved is the rehabilitation of Cais do Ginjal (Ginjal Pier), in Almada, which includes the rehabilitation of the city’s riverfront area, in a joint investment with the City Hall for around 300 million euro.
More recently, the group announced the purchase of two housing buildings in Lisbon, also for rehabilitation, through their affiliate company Varino, in a joint venture with Socicorreia.