Merkel has completed the purchase of a 5,000 square metre plot of land at the intersection of Avenida Zaragoza and Calle Sadar, in Pamplona, with the aim of constructing a building for short and medium stay accommodation. This building will have up to 143 units, including studios and suites, the company said in a press release.
The project, called Living Pamplona, is scheduled to open in January 2026 and is aimed primarily at master's and postgraduate students, as well as young professionals. It will offer various services, including a swimming pool, solarium, gym, coworking rooms and a cafeteria open to the public. It will be strategically located between the University of Navarra and the Public University of Navarra, and will have a ground floor structure plus six floors, including studios and suites with terrace and a very good Breeam certification.
In addition to this project in Pamplona, Merkel is involved in the construction of four university residences in Barcelona, Pamplona, Granada and Seville, and plans to expand with future projects in Valencia and an additional land recently acquired in Madrid, where construction is expected to start in 2024.
Merkel's target: an investment of 450 million in the next three years
By the end of 2023, Merkel had invested approximately 290 million euros in student residences, totalling more than 2,800 beds. With the recent acquisition, the company is moving towards its strategic goal of investing more than €450 million to develop 5,000 beds over the next three years.
Merkel Asset Management, founded in 2014 by Jokin Andueza, current CEO, with offices in Barcelona and Madrid, focuses on premium category projects with high added value. The company notes that Spain will require more than 760,000 affordable rental homes and more than 440,000 social rental homes over the next decade, highlighting the lack of residential land and high prices as factors driving investors and developers to seek alternatives to meet the demand for affordable housing.