In a private meeting of the municipal executive, the three proposals were approved with the casting vote of the acting mayor, a role performed by the vice-mayor, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), after a tie between votes in favour and votes against.
A source from the municipality told Lusa that there were seven votes against, namely three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), two from the PCP, one from BE and one from Livre, seven votes in favour of the PSD/CDS-PP leadership (which governs without an absolute majority) and three abstentions from PS.
The project to be carried out in the former Convent of Nossa Senhora da Graça was presented by the company AZIRIVER - Empreendimentos Turísticos, as part of the “REVIVE, Rehabilitation, Heritage and Tourism” project, as the concessionaire of the property, seeking the licensing of extension work with demolition, for the construction of a hotel.
With a floor area of 18,922.17 square metres (m²), the proposal is intended “for tourist use, with a maximum capacity of 262 fixed beds/users, distributed across 131 accommodation units, namely 95 double rooms and 36 suites, including a car park with 173 private spaces (…) and 22 public parking spaces, accessed via Rua Damasceno Monteiro”.
According to the proposal signed by the Councillor for Urban Planning, Joana Almeida (an independent elected by the "Novos Tempos" PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança coalition), the building in the former Convent of Nossa Senhora da Graça has four floors above the threshold level and three floors in the basement (for parking, technical areas and service areas of the hotel and SPA).
In the parish of Arroios, one of the two hotels to be built is at Campo dos Mártires da Pátria no. 40-43 and Rua de Santo António dos Capuchos no. 90-92, by Patriarq Investment, Unipessoal, as the owner of the building, in which “the project covers a Property of Public Interest”, but ensures the principles of “preservation and safeguarding of the cultural, historical and architectural heritage, proposing the restoration of original decorative elements of the building, as well as seeking to ensure the compatibility of the materials to be used with the traditional construction systems in place”. “The building, with a floor area of 6,404.97 m2, is intended for tourism use, and the basement floors, although they include the hotel support services and technical areas, are mainly intended for parking, with the creation of 12 private parking spaces”, reads the proposal, which consists of expanding a building complex to adapt to the new use, which will be spread over five floors above the threshold level, plus the use of the attic roof, and two floors below the threshold level.
The other hotel planned for Arroios will be at Rua Joaquim Bonifácio no. 23-35, turning onto Rua Gomes Freire no. 154-172, a project presented by the owner company 4 Travellers, which foresees the “demolition of two pre-existing buildings, intended for residential, tertiary and tourism use, and their replacement by a new corner building intended for tourism use”.
The proposed building will be built on six floors above the threshold level and five floors below the threshold level, with a floor area of 3,717.15 m², with “92 accommodation units (87 double rooms and five triple rooms)”.
According to the proposal, the floors below the threshold level will be used for private parking (28 spaces), bicycle parking (10 spaces), technical areas, hotel service areas, a compartment for the disposal of solid waste and a gym.
The executive of the Lisbon City Council, which is made up of 17 members, includes seven elected members of the "Novos Tempos" coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) - who are the only ones with assigned portfolios and who govern without an absolute majority -, three from the PS, three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), two from the PCP, one from Livre and one from BE.
More rooms for tourists, means less potential housing for Lisboans.
By Phil Weingrow from Lisbon on 30 Jul 2024, 11:24
Very good, but then also cut on private holiday rents (Airbnb) , all these private rentals kill the local frame work. Residents feel rejected, unwanted and aren't able to afford rents anymore, in Lisbon and also other cities in Europe where people get sick and tired of all the (fast) food outlets and roll cases. Tourists fine, but too many, be careful.
By Jacques De la Haye from Other on 30 Jul 2024, 12:42