An unfinished building that has been abandoned for years located in one of the main entrances to Lagoa, just a stone’s throw away from the local bus terminal, is finally being turned into a thriving apartment complex.
The new ‘Atrium Lagoa’ will feature 52 apartments, 13 commercial spaces and 70 underground parking spaces and is due to welcome its first residents in 2020. Construction is set to start this November and last between 18 and 24 months.
Dutch businessman Erik de Vlieger is the man behind the project, a self-described ‘urban redevelopment enthusiast’ and well-known for the renovation of Portimão’s iconic ‘Mabor’ building, right by the riverfront.
He moved to the Algarve for good in 2011 and became a managing partner at Carvoeiro Clube, which owns several resorts and plans to “double the number of current developments” in the future.
But Lagoa’s abandoned concrete eyesore had been “irritating” him since 2006.
“I would look at it every day. I went to Montepio bank in 2010 as it had stopped being built by a local constructor due to the crisis. However, their asking price was very high. Last year, they came to meet me, sat down at my office and we closed the deal,” he told Barlavento newspaper.
The businessman has also bought two other buildings on the town’s Rua da Liberdade which he intends to renovate.
Regarding ‘Atrium’, Erik de Vlieger says he is only waiting for the council’s approval to begin construction.
“If they don’t support us with the technical matters, we won’t build, and the building will remain how it is now for the next 10 years. I have done my part, it’s been done since July, so now it’s up to the council.”
Lagoa mayor Francisco Martins says that “what’s missing is the approval from the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation” so that the project is included in the municipal Urban Rehabilitation Area (ARU) plan.
Says Martins, this project is “very important” as it will turn what is currently an eyesore into a “welcome card” as the building is sited in one of the town’s main entrances. He also praises the project for creating new housing in Lagoa, as construction has virtually stopped in the town, and for showing that there are people “interested in renovating urban landscapes”.
De Vlieger guarantees that the building’s existing structure has been inspected to ensure its safety and that it is structurally sound. Building company Simão & Martins has been chosen to complete the construction of ‘Atrium Lagoa’, while the design is in the hands of architect João Carriço from Studio Arte.
Carriço told Barlavento that Atrium will have one- to five-bedroom apartments and that the penthouses will be “generously sized”. Five-bedroom apartments will cover 250sqm areas, four-bedroom apartments 200sqm and three-bedroom apartments 190sqm.
There will also be space for an urban vegetable garden and a lounge area which will be accessible by all residents, the architect says.
Inside the apartments, the idea is to make them open and bright.
Arnold Aarsen, the man in charge of Studio Arte, said: “We know that Portuguese houses tend to have a lot of blinds and curtains to protect them from the sun, but we would like the apartments to be more open and clean, so we will use different kinds of blinds.
Residents will always have natural light in their homes and the balcony will be an integral part of the living room. ‘Atrium’ will also feature a small water garden, with natural light and a vertical wall with plants. This is essential to us,” explained
Inside the complex there will also be a laundry room, a condominium office and a small gym. He also revealed that one of the 13 commercial spaces will be a restaurant specialising in fresh seafood and fish.
Arnold Aarsen says that there may even be one condominium rule that will need to be enforced to ensure the building’s façade remains looking “clean”. “We will work very hard to ensure no washing lines can be seen on balconies,” he said.
Atrium is just one of many projects that Erik de Vlieger hopes to develop in Portugal.
“I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life in Portugal. I’m happy here. I’m an urban developer and my specialty is to improve the look of towns,” he said.
The Dutch urban developer has expressed an interest in other locations in the region, namely the area around Faro’s train station where there are “many buildings waiting to be renovated”.
He also owns a 610-hectare property in Lagos that was meant to become Match Algarve – a state-of-the-art sports village that has been in the pipeline for years (click here).
“I have tried to find investors, but it’s hard,” he told the paper.
Erik is also working on the opening of a hotel in the centre of Portimão, where he has also purchased three buildings.
It will be located in the town’s old Feitoria building, near the iconic Mabor building which he was responsible for renovating.
The hotel will boast 50 rooms and a restaurant with a terrace and may also include a skybar and a pool on the rooftop. The restaurant and skybar will be open to all, not just hotel guests.
The Dutch businessman says that Portimão’s riverside area is “very interesting and cheap compared to other cities”, say in Israel, Morocco, Serbia, Italy and Spain. “I cannot believe that properties with great potential were being sold for €40,000 or €80,000.”
He says that he took “a lot of risks” when he decided to restore Mabor to its former glory but that he is happy that it paid off and that the area is now being sought by other investors as well.
