Starting January 2024, the construction of the Vanderbilt Residences condohotel in Condado is set to advance, aiming to reach the top of the 250-foot structure by the end of the year, according to Rolando Padua, president of Paulson Puerto Rico, the project’s developer, which involves an investment of approximately $184 million.
The tower will consist of 66 units and 22 floors, making it one of the most ambitious projects for the Condado area, which is undergoing transformation due to nearly $500 million in new residential and tourism-related construction.
Vanderbilt Residences is located on two lots on Earle Street. Earle HC, LLC, owned by Paulson, acquired both lots in 2014 for $7.3 million and $2.7 million, respectively, according to property records.
“Many people ask us why we are not raising the building, but most of the concrete for the project—almost two-thirds—is below ground,” the executive explained in an interview with El Nuevo Día.
“We are accelerating construction and have just hired an additional contractor to assist with the concrete work. We are aiming to reach the top of the building by the end of next year,” Padua noted.
Specifically, Paulson Puerto Rico aims to build two floors of the tower each month in 2024. “We are focused on the goal of completing the project,” Padua stated.
He acknowledged that the Condado area presents challenges for developing such projects due to traffic and limited parking availability, but assured that measures are being taken to ensure the project progresses harmoniously with the area’s residential and economic activity.
For instance, he mentioned that employees park outside of Condado and that residents are informed door-to-door about major project developments. They are also planning to work at night.
“Our experience has been that there have not been significant complaints. If you inform your neighbors and the community, you don’t have issues. We avoid critical dates and try to work at night to minimize traffic disruptions. In that process, we coordinate with the police and the Municipality of San Juan for street openings and closures,” he expressed.
High Demand
As of last July, a little over half of the 50 residential units in the project were already sold, Padua detailed in response to inquiries from this newspaper.
The rest, he assured, will be put on sale as the end of the building’s construction approaches in early 2026.
Property prices range from $3.9 million to $12.9 million, a figure significantly above the average price for an apartment in Condado or Miramar, as previously reported by El Nuevo Día.
“We do not sell more than 50% of the units until the project’s completion date approaches because construction prices are lower than they will be when the project is finished,” Padua explained.
“Demand is high because there is no construction of this level in Puerto Rico; it remains quite limited. There are other ongoing constructions in the Condado area that are trying to get started, but they have found it very difficult to do so because construction prices remain very high,” he added.
More Residential Projects
Once 2026 arrives and all units in Vanderbilt Residences are sold, Padua revealed that Paulson Puerto Rico, owned by U.S. businessman John Paulson, will continue investing in residential project developments in San Juan.
According to the executive, the condohotel concept has proven successful, so they will seek to replicate it.
Currently, Paulson owns the La Concha, Condado Vanderbilt, and Condado Ocean Club hotels, as well as the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Río Grande.
Since its inception in the project, St. Regis included the development of residences as one of the property’s fundamental pillars.
The value of the residences in the complex has increased over time, to the point where U.S. businessman Michael Tennenbaum listed his mansion there for $39.5 million, a record figure for the area, as reported recently by this newspaper.
So far, property transactions at St. Regis have fluctuated between $3.5 million and $8.5 million, according to property records.
“One of the reasons we made St. Regis a profitable property is that we integrated the residence element. The residences at Bahia Beach are part of the hotel, and the price difference today is extraordinary,” Padua acknowledged.
In light of this, he stated that adding 50 residences to the Condado Vanderbilt hotel, since Vanderbilt Residences will be an extension of the hospitality property, will make it a more successful establishment.
“This type of condohotel project will be successful in Puerto Rico, and we will make it happen,” he concluded.
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