The New Urban Park in the center of Porto will have 17,000m2, a winter lake and metro connection

Source:  Porto Canal

There is a new Urban Park literally being planted in the center of Porto. It is located in the Lapa neighborhood, next to the metro station, and will cover 17,000 square meters. The land, without construction or development for over decades, was acquired by the Canadian group Mercan Properties.

The future Lapa Urban Park, public and free, will be built in several stages. The first one starts at the beginning of May and it will take around 12 months to be completed. 14,500 square meters of abandoned land at the back of "Morro da Lapa" were deforested, and are now beginning to be leveled. There are two branches of an underground stream – the "Ribeira de Vilar" – which runs through Rua de Cervantes - this new urban project will bring it to the surface, allowing the green space to serve as a sponge during the winter, preventing floods and serving as a protection dam for the riverside areas of the city. During periods of prolonged rain, it is likely that a mirror of water will appear in Lapa, similar to a lake. In addition to planting various species of trees, the park will hold a “play trail” and a “pedestrian path”.

The second construction phase of the park, covering over 2,500 square meters, should only start in 2025. A cafeteria is being planned to support visitors.

 

 

 

 

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A “virtuous” partnership between public and private

The Urban Lapa Park is being built by the Mercan Group in an agreement with the City Council of Port, which involves the new Hotel Renaissance in Lapa, a brand of the luxury conglomerate Marriott inaugurated on April 17 of 2023.

The lands in Lapa were the subject of an urban study in 2019, which defined the area for ​​the future park and the obligation of public space. In exchange for a discount on municipal fees, the Mercan Group was responsible for making the green project as well as rehabilitating and expanding, the streets on neighboring Rua de Cervantes and Alves Redol. “Either they paid fees or carried out works”, explains the councilor for Urbanism and Public Spaces.

The Renaissance Porto Lapa Hotel

Lapa's newest four-star hotel is also being built in stages. The first phase, on Rua de Cervantes, is already in operation. It has 163 rooms, four suites, a rooftop pool, a gym, and a conference room for 600 people. The second phase of construction, which involves a second building connected by bridges, starts in parallel with the work on the urban park. In total, the Mercan Group will invest 90.5 million euros in Lapa.

Project for the future Urban Park of Lapa, designed by Porto's City Council. The land was donated by the Mercan Group

“We bought all the land and then we assigned 3,000 square meters for streets and another 14,500 for the public park”, describes Miguel Gomes, Mercan's director responsible for construction and development. “The agreement we made with the Porto City Council was interesting for them and for us. The urban project for the park was already done, we are simply carrying it out”, the Lapa land behind the metro station was a “secret” in the city, details Miguel Gomes. 

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