Canadian group invests three million in the "last urban park" in the center of Porto

Source: ECO Sapo

In August 2024, "the last urban park in the center of Porto" will be covering 1.7 hectares, in an investment of three million euros by the Canadian group Mercan Properties.

“This is the last urban park we can build in the city center. There are no more spaces of this nature with an area of 1.7 hectares," said the Mayor of Porto during the ceremony that marked the start of work on the Lapa Urban Park. In an investment of three million euros, supported by the Canadian group Mercan Properties, owner of the Renaissance Porto Lapa Hotel, this new green lung of the city will be ready for use in August 2024, said Rui Moreira, who is giving up one million euros in taxes for this green space.

This project is the result of a partnership between the municipality and the Canadian group, as part of the licensing process for the new hotel. It also included the private group's intervention in the redevelopment of the streets of Cervantes and Alves Redol, which have been open to traffic since March. In this case, "there was no exemption from paying fees, which would have been around a million euros. Rather, there was a transfer of land as part of an urban development operation that is provided for in the Municipal Master Plan," explained the municipality's Councillor for Urban Planning, Pedro Baganha, during the ceremony.

The president of Mercan Properties, Jordi Vilanova, finally stated that this is "the [group's] contribution to sustainable development and improving the city's quality of life", as well as "cementing a legacy for future generations: a greener Porto".

In recent years, the total area of green spaces in the municipality of Porto, between requalifications and expansions, has been 76 hectares, of which 22 hectares are new spaces. These include the construction of the Oriental Park, the west end of the City Park, the expansion of the São Roque Park, the construction of the Asprela Park and the green roof of the Campanhã Intermodal Terminal.

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