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ARCHIVED - High expat demand for Benidorm apartments in tallest European residential building
Tallest apartment block in Alicante province sells most exclusive properties for 2 million euros
The Intempo skyscraper that dominates Benidorm’s skyline has sold half of its 256 apartments, and 40% of buyers for the mid-range properties on the first 37 floors are expats. These properties cost between 250,000 and 1 million euros, while the most expensive apartments, which have a price tag of up to 2 million euros, have been bought by Spanish nationals.Some of the buyers are investors looking to turn a profit by renting out the apartments, and there is lots more interest in the remaining properties for sale in the 202-metre-tall skyscraper, according to Jorge Romagosa, product manager for the building. The building is receiving around 20 visits a day, some lasting for over 2 hours depending on how interested the potential buyers are.
Intempo boasts two swimming pools on the ground floor – one for adults and a children’s pool – plus a play area and a restaurant for use only by residents of the building. There is a wellness area on the roof that includes an infinity pool, a sauna, a gym and massage areas.
History of the Intempo building
The sale marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Intempo building, the tallest residential building in Europe, which has been mired in financial and construction problems for the last 15 years.
Construction on the building began in February 2006, with a projected completion date of 2010, but the economic crisis in Spain put a halt to the work. The original building company filed for bankruptcy in July 2009, so a new company took over in March 2010.
Meanwhile, debt on a bank loan worth 100 million euros was taken over by Sareb, the body created to rescue bad bank assets following the 2010 economic crash, and the promotors of the building also filed for bankruptcy in 2014. There were also unsubstantiated claims that the 45-storey building had no elevator, which didn’t help its reputation.
Things turned around for Intempo in 2017 when a US investor, SVP Global, paid 60 million euros for the building and spent another 30 million to get developer Uniq Residential to finish the building work.
Now, with the keys to the building’s luxury apartments ready to hand over in September, it seems like the nightmare saga is finally coming to an end, to the relief of Benidorm residents tired of seeing the expensive and iconic skyscraper lying dark and empty on the skyline.
Image: Archive
