The parish of Bonfim, in Porto, is home to construction boom and this time it is worth over 10 million euros

Porto is a magnet for entrepreneurship and innovation. Exactly so! One of the latest examples is the construction of Porto Business Plaza. The development of this real estate kicked off already and it is taking over two floors at the former central shopping. 

The private investment surpasses 10 million euros and there is already huge demand for these office spaces. The building should be concluded in January 2021.

The construction works started in-between the Rua de Santos Pousada and Campo 24 de Agosto, adjacent to Natixis, which settled in the beginning of 2018.

Porto Business Plaza, a project led by grupo SDC Investimentos, was designed by architects Alexandre Burmester and Luís Alçada Baptista, and it is literally reinventing the built environment as it brings economic boost and job creation to the city of Porto. We are talking 20 thousand meters commercial offices that ought to be ready in the beginning of next year, should the inauguration date stand.

Councillor for Economy, Tourism and Trade, Ricardo Valente recently visited the construction site upon invitation by SDC Investimentos.

"The success of this enterprise is yet another proof of Porto's capacity to attract businesses, of the strategic rehabilitation opportunities in the eastern part of town, especially in the parish of Bonfim", stated Ricardo Valente, cited by Magazine Imobiliário.

This phase regarding commercial offices availability should be concluded in March 2021 and company managers assert that "it is possible already to ascertain the benefits of the space rehabilitation in terms of quality of space, which is fit to accommodate large and functional companies".

Duarte Corrêa d'Oliveira, representing the real estate Cushman & Wakefield representative, which will exclusively market this spaces, stated that "Porto Business Plaza is confirmation that the oriental part of Porto is a business destination par excellence, where big players want to be on account of its centrality and the excellent public transport offer", cited the same source.

Another example that the built investment is thriving in the city of Porto is the Fortera investment, in the same quarter, facing Rua do Bonfim.

Fortera alongside Israeli Fattal Hotels and ISSTA Lines, each one holding one third of the share capital of the real estate will build a residential project of 20 million euros, with circa 200 apartments and a five star hotel, in a 47 million euro investment. The construction work should start this year, stated to Jornal de Negócios Elad Dror, Fortera's CEO.

Also settled in Bonfim, as of May 2019, is Talkdesk, the Portuguese unicorn that is now worth 3 billion dollars.

This capacity of Porto attracting new businesses and companies which settle in town has not been damaged by the crisis. Demand is still on the rise, also thanks to the work developed by the Municipality of Porto, through InvestPorto, established in 2015 by Rui Moreira.

This is a priority that was transferred to the next Municipal Master Plan (PDM), whose bet on boosting investment in Porto and providing the necessary conditions to attract and retain companies led to establishing new working areas regarding urban targeting, which will be defined in the land use planning.

Porto is a magnet for new business investment, drawing in people and investors from different parts of the globe, even amid the pandemic, as stated by Jornal de Negócios.

With information and communication technologies and tourism being considered the driving sectors of the country's development, Porto is the Portuguese city with the highest number in investment projects and employment creation.

Also, in the beginning of the year, The Guardian shortlisted 10 of the coolest neighbourhoods in Europe and Bonfim, in Porto, is spotlighted as number four, ahead of neighbourhoods in Warsaw, Rome or even Paris.