It will be located behind the shopping mall and will have 100 rooms. In addition, there will be two new supermarkets.
Photo: R. Figueredo
The OH! shopping mall in La Barra will add a luxury hotel complex with 100 rooms, which will require an investment of more than US$ 35 million. The project will be called “OHTel!”, a name with the same style as the shopping mall brand, and will be headed by architect Carlos Ott. The works will be carried out after the end of the next summer season, once the corresponding authorizations are granted, which are currently being processed by the corresponding agencies.
The proposal will be presented to the Maldonado City Hall in the coming days. The Netzaj Sociedad Anónima group, made up of Uruguayan, Argentine, French and American investors, is responsible for the construction of the OH! shopping centre in La Barra and is now leading the hotel project. “This is a new challenge for those of us who have fulfilled our proposal to convert La Barra, which until now was a place of activity for 30 days, into a destination for every day of the year,” explained Javier Stolovistky, CEO of the Netzaj SA investment group. “In order to make this proposal a reality, there must not only be a shopping centre, but also a hotel, apartments and residences,” he added. Stolovistky recalled that the proposal to provide a service infrastructure to generate activity throughout the year in La Barra began in 2012. “In those years, people said that it was not necessary to have this type of proposal. 'Why do it if there is no one?', they insisted. This made us excited to try to change this situation,” emphasized the promoter of the initiative. “Our answer was and continues to be: is there nothing because there is no one or rather is there no one because there is nothing? It is impossible to have people without first being open and with attractive proposals for all audiences,” explained the CEO. The new hotel complex has been on the project portfolio of the shareholders of the firm Netzaj Sociedad Anónima, owner of the land where the shopping complex and the planned building are located, for some time. Its managers decided in recent weeks to define the project and submit the corresponding application to the municipal authorities. What will it be like? Stolovistky described the proposal as a 5-star superior hotel complex that fits in what he considers to be a perfect harmony with the shopping center and with the spa itself. The hotel will have luxury rooms and will be equipped with the services appropriate to a luxury complex such as a spa, gym, swimming pools, and what Stolovistky considers to be the plus of its connection to the shopping center. It will also have convention rooms that will allow for work meetings of both local and foreign companies. “The project is in the approval stage at the City Hall. A top-level international hotel chain developed the project together with Netzaj,” added Stolovistky. The new complex will occupy, in terms of the quality of the project, the place left by the now defunct “La Posta del Cangrejo”, which marked a part of the history of La Barra in recent decades.
The project will be completed after 30 months of construction and will be carried out by the studio of architect Carlos Ott, the construction by the company L3 and by Javier Stolovitsky himself, responsible for the proposal. “The complex will be built in blocks, which will allow us to work according to the demand generated at each time of the year. The hotel complex will have its doors open all year round,” insisted the person responsible for the idea. Future effect. For Stolovistky “there is no doubt” that the proposal by OH! will generate a “very positive” impact for both visitors and residents of the place all year round. He affirmed that the luxury shopping mall and the hotel will be an attraction for all those who live within dozens of kilometers around. The hotel will be added to the shopping center, which has 34 stores built on 5.540 square meters of the 16135 lot. Today it has international brands such as “Roberto Cavalli”, “Hackett London”, “Pinko”, “Paule Ka”, “Gottex”, among others. “We added top brands that exhibit their offers all year round to the public that comes to La Barra throughout the year”, added the person responsible for the idea. Million-dollar investment In mid-September, the mayor of Maldonado, Enrique Antía, reported that of the 37 investment projects presented, the municipality approved 32 and is evaluating the viability of others. So far this year, the Municipality has already secured some 400.000 square meters of construction.
Most of the proposals are from Argentine capital and represent more than 900.000 square meters of direct work in the department. All these projects, according to calculations released by the departmental government, mean an investment of US$ 1.800 billion dollars for the next few years. In 2017 alone, more than two million daily wages will be generated and a minimum investment of more than US$ 800 million, reported the highest departmental official. As an example, the Argentine multimillionaire Sergio Grosskopf will generate 30.000 square meters and from the second year another 68.821 square meters will be added, said Antía. Small businesses fear for their future The intersection of Eduardo Víctor Haedo Avenue with Las Brisas de La Barra Street will become the center of the movement of the resort located east of the Maldonado stream. Commercial proposal definitions are known as a summer season approaches that promises to be better than the previous one.
The year-round residents of La Barra consulted by El País did not hide their “surprise” at the arrival of the two well-known supermarket brands in the country. The news did not go down well with the small businesses and stores in the area. Many fear for their future. In fact, on the corner of the shopping mall, a branch of the Devoto supermarket chain will soon be added. Meanwhile, the Tienda Inglesa supermarket chain will add a branch where one of the most complete gyms in the area used to operate. The future location will have access to both Eduardo Víctor Haedo Avenue and Las Brisas Street. This will allow for the creation of a large parking area to accommodate the vehicles of both customers and suppliers and supermarket employees.
Source: elpais.com.uy
