A new tender was launched for the Hotel Turismo da Guarda under the Revive programme. In May 2018, a concession contract was awarded to a consortium composed of MRG Property, S.A. and MRG – Construction, S.A. Financial difficulties afflicting the group, however, prevented the project from going ahead.
The Portuguese government subsequently revoked the contract, according to an announcement on the Portuguese official website. Now, it has launched a new tender to finally give new life to the iconic building in the city of Guarda, designed by architect Vasco Regaleira in 1936.
The announcement of the new tender is now awaiting publication in the Diário da República and the Official Journal. Closed for several years, the Hotel Turismo da Guarda was one of the first buildings tendered under the Revive programme.
For a minimum annual rent of 35,317.80 euros, the property will be awarded as a 50-year concession. Interested investors will have 120 days to submit a proposal. In addition to refurbishing the property, the winner would be required to promote its recovery through tourism and contribute to attracting tourists to the region and generating new dynamics in the local economy.
Hotel Turismo da Guarda was one of the 33 properties in the initial batch of the REVIVE programme, an initiative of the Ministries of Economy, Culture, Finance and Defence. Revive, which has the collaboration of local authorities and is coordinated by Turismo de Portugal, aims to refurbish unused public properties, boosting the attractiveness of regional destinations.
Revive
The second edition of Revive was launched in 2019. Sixteen new properties were added. Another three have already joined the list in 2021. The programme currently includes a total of 52 properties, 22 of them in low density areas.
The concession of 18 of these properties has already been awarded. That represents more than 138 million euros of private investment in the recovery of public assets and annual rents of around 2.4 million euros.
