Paseo Gigena
Geographical area: Latin America and the Caribbean
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
City size: Large (between 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 inhabitants)
Promoter: Municipality of Buenos Aires
Developer: BSD Grupo Asesor and Fideicomiso Dorrego Y Libertador
Start year:
End-year:
Implementation phase: Implementation in progress
Project size: Building
Total area of intervention (in sqm): 15.000
Total investments (in USD): 20 million
Paseo Gigena is a redevelopment project taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that aims to transform a multi-story parking lot owned by the Municipality of Buenos Aires into a multi-service building with public spaces, green areas, offices and commercial activities. The project, located in the central Palermo neighbourhood, covers a degraded area of 15,000 sqm. Since its construction in 1971, the parking lot was managed by the private company 'Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo,' owner of the adjacent racetrack, under a concession from the Municipality of Buenos Aires, which was initially set to run until 2002. However, after 2002, the parking lot was illegally operated as a parking area for racetrack clients. To end the irregular use of the building, the Municipality of Buenos Aires included the Paseo Gigena area in a wider urban redevelopment plan of the city. In 2018, the Municipality of Buenos Aires cleared out the building and changed its land use designation, removing it from the list of historically protected areas. This change allows for an increase in building volume and encourages private sector involvement in the site’s redevelopment. The change was necessary, as historically protected areas are subject to numerous restrictions. In 2019, the Department of Economic and Productive Development opened a public tender to assign the redevelopment rights of Paseo Gigena. The development rights were awarded to a private company formed by real estate firms Masbor SRL and BSD Grupo Asesor, which won the tender and pays a monthly fee to the Municipality. Currently, the company is composed of BSD Grupo Asesor and the financial trust Fideicomiso Dorrego y Libertador, which acquired Masbor SRL’s shares. The masterplan of the project was developed by the architectural studio ODA which collaborated with the architectural studios Aisenson Studio and Inscape Landscape. The project will preserve around 80% of the existing structure, creating a total of 24,000 sqm of covered space for offices and commercial activities, along with 12,000 sqm of public green areas. This includes 4,000 sqm of rooftop green spaces accessible from the street. In addition, the project will implement 250 parking spots on the ground floor. The partial demolition and construction work began in early 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The Paseo Gigena project will renovate a degraded building, bringing commercial activities, offices, open spaces, and green areas to the surrounding neighbourhood. Additionally, the redevelopment will create a green corridor connecting various green spaces in the area, linking El Rosedal Park with Parque Tres de Febrero. The project is also expected to have positive economic impacts, including new job opportunities, increased land and real estate values, and enhanced appeal for tourists.
Land use zoning
The total surface of the intervention is 15,000 sqm, with 12,000 sqm allocated to open spaces and 3,000 sqm allocated to offices and commercial activities. The building area will cover a total surface of 24,000 sqm, with 10,000 sqm hosting commercial activities, 7,000 sqm with offices and 7,000 sqm hosting a total of 250 parking slots. In addition, the building roods will host 4,000 sqm of green areas open to the public with pedestrian walks.
Economic
The renovation of Paseo Gigena will bring a significant increase in the land and real estate values of the surrounding areas, benefitting landowners and landlords in the proximal area. Moreover, the project will increase the overall attractiveness of the area by renovating a degraded building with high potential for the city. The renovation will also attract a significant number of tourists which will spread across the entire city centre. Lastly, the provision of spaces for commercial activities and offices in the new buildings will create several job opportunities for the local community.
Environmental
From an environmental perspective, the project will transform the old parking lot into a high energy performance building to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The Paseo Gigena will also provide an important amount of new open green spaces in the neighbourhood, creating a green corridor between different green areas. The allocation of 4,000 sqm of green areas located on the building roofs will increase the biodiversity of the area. The green areas will be easily accessible to the public, and the pedestrian walks will provide a direct connection between the new green spaces and the Park El Rosedal and the Park 3rd of February.
Social
Certificates
The project of Paseo Gigena did not receive any environmental certificate.
Funding source
The redevelopment of Paseo Gigena is entirely funded by the private companies Fideicomiso Dorrego Y Libertador and BSD Grupo Asesor.
Financing and economic instruments
The purpose company which is developing the project employs private resource gathered from the founding companies Fideicomiso Dorrego Y Libertador and BSD Grupo Asesor. The company also pays a monthly fee around USD 23,000 to the Municipality of Buenos Aires for the development rights, in addition to the allocation of at least 1,000 sqm for public works. The Municipality of Buenos Aires employs the resources collected with the monthly payment to realize and manage public spaces across the entire city. Through the land use change, the Municipality of Buenos Aires and the purpose company agreed on volumetric incentives to the redevelopment project, increasing the maximum volumetry for buildings in the area.