Former Rahola store in Santurce to be site of $13.4 million mixed-use project
Posted: Thursday, April 3, 2008 - 10:11 AM
By Jose L. Carmona of Caribbean Business

In tune with the government’s Urban Revitalization Plan for Santurce, property owner Paglo SE is contributing to this initiative with the densification of another urban center with the development of a mixed-use, multistory structure to be called Conservatory Tower.

At a $13.4 million construction investment, the privately funded Conservatory Tower will be developed on a 1,900-square-meter lot composed of four adjacent parcels of land between Ponce de León Avenue and Cerra Street in Santurce’s Monserrate sector that for decades belonged to the Rahola family, owners of the former Rahola Photo supply store chain.

“Two concrete structures on Ponce de León Avenue that are part of the lot to be developed once housed the Santurce Rahola Photo store. Generational and market changes forced the eventual closing of the emblematic Rahola store in Santurce. Currently empty and dilapidated, the structures suffered severe internal and structural damage in 1998 as a result of Hurricane Georges, which made the rehabilitation of them financially unfeasible,” TRG Architects founding partner Eduardo Regis explained to CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.

The proposal for Conservatory Tower calls for a 13-story building with one level dedicated for an underground parking facility with enough spaces for residents and the general public plus complementary commercial spaces; 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground-level floor with its main entrance through Ponce de León Avenue; eight levels for residential use with 24 apartment units of three and four bedrooms; two levels for residential use consisting of six, four-bedroom subpenthouse units, and one top level with a single penthouse residential unit.

According to Regis, whose firm designed the project, the individual units will range from 2,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet in size, either with three or four bedrooms plus living, dining and family rooms.

Units will have spacious balconies with views of Condado Lagoon and the new Conservatory of Music. All units will have two-and-a-half bathrooms and two parking spaces (three parking spaces for subpenthouses and the penthouse). The units’ master suites will have their own balcony, bathroom and walk-in closet, noted Regis.

The building’s facilities will include a lobby, administrative office, security guard station, mailbox center and a maintenance room. There will also be a children’s play area and an activity room for parties and reunions.

Unit prices will start at $750,000, and construction is slated to begin later this year pending approval of construction permits.

Regis noted Conservatory Tower would be within the radius of action of the Urban Train station proposed for Roberto H. Todd Avenue. The area’s zoning applies to and complements the proposed project, he added.

“The proposed residential tower in Santurce’s Monserrate sector in Miramar is an important private-sector vision that will adopt the revitalization and redensification initiatives of the central government for the development of Santurce. Located on a parcel with strategic access and views of the area, this investment will be vital and a determining factor for improving the area’s rehabilitation environment,” said Regis.

The project’s proposed mixed use (residential-commercial) will positively impact the urban surroundings of the sector, which in turn will foster more urban and commercial activity in the area through increased population and socioeconomic activity, added Regis.
“Activity generated by the project will improve the area’s security. By enjoying neighboring public and recreational facilities such as the Conservatory of Music, Laguna del Condado linear park and Parque Central, the project stands very positively to take advantage of these and other proposed facilities,” Regis commented.