Coima SGR, Covivio and Prada have been awarded the tender by FS Sistemi Urbani Srl and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA for the acquisition of the Porta Romana railway yard in Milan for c. €180m. The 190,000m² site (in addition to the remaining 26,000m² portion of the railway) is in the dynamic south-east area of Milan, adjacent to the historic centre, and will be home to the Olympic Village for the athletes of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The acquisition will be made through the real estate investment fund "Porta Romana", promoted and managed by Coima SGR and subscribed by Covivio, Prada and the Coima ESG City Impact fund.
This investment will enable the regeneration of a decommissioned area inspired by principles of sustainability, with a project comparable to the best urban regeneration schemes in Europe for quality, size and purpose.
The active railway line will be partially underground and overlooked by overpasses that will connect the large neighbourhoods in the south-east, already under renovation, to the adjacent historic centre. This will break down the barrier that has so far been represented by the yard, with 100,000m² of easy paths within the park with residences, offices, social housing, services and student housing to be constructed. The site will remain interconnected to the entire metropolitan area through the railway and metro stations.
COIMA SGR will develop the free and subsidized residential component and the Olympic Village, which will be transformed into approximately 1,000 beds of student housing at the end of the games; Covivio will develop office functions and services; Prada, mainly interested in the quality of the park, will build a building for laboratory and office use to extend its activities already present in the area.
Manfredi Catella, Founder & CEO of Coima, said: "Our investment strategy is based on urban regeneration on a neighbourhood scale, where we believe the best results can be achieved through integrating infrastructure, environment and community. The experience gained in the redevelopment and management of the Porta Nuova railway yard, now together with the Porta Romana project, is grafted onto the development of the future of cities in an era of innovation and extraordinary transformation. Porta Romana, together with Valtellina-Farini, now allows us to start a significant program in residential development. This partnership with Covivio and Prada represents an important alliance of national and international entrepreneurs and a commitment to contribute together in promoting Italy’s recovery as we start work on this landmark site."
