A major urban progress project is taking shape just outside Barcelona, with the completion of Hotel Tower One in Esplugues de Llobregat marking a significant milestone. The Porta Diagonal project, a 250 million euro investment led by Sacresa adn Emesa, aims to create a mixed-use hub for business, healthcare, and research. With construction underway on a second tower and a planned completion date of 2029,the development promises to reshape the area into a new district of innovation.
The first building of the Porta Diagonal urban development project in Esplugues de Llobregat, known as Hotel Tower One, has been completed, developers announced. Construction has also begun on the project’s second tower.
The investors behind the project are grouped under Corpum Investments, with Sacresa holding a 50% stake. José Elías, owner of Audax Renovables and La Sirena, owns 25%, while the remaining capital is distributed among other minority partners. The building represents a 75 million euro investment and was designed by the architecture firm Batlleiroig.
Hotel Tower One comprises 29,950 square meters (approximately 322,000 square feet) and stands nearly 100 meters (328 feet) tall, with 25 floors. The building, which will house 526 rooms, is slated for formal handover to international fund Hines this December. Hines reportedly acquired the property for 85 million euros in March 2023.
Hines intends to operate Hotel Tower One under the Aparto brand, which specializes in student residences and flexible living arrangements, also known as ‘coliving.’ The company currently operates in eight cities across the United Kingdom, including Oxford and Cambridge, as well as Dublin (Ireland), Milan and Florence (Italy), and Paris (France). In Spain, Aparto already manages two residences in Barcelona: Cristóbal de Moura and Pallars, in the 22@ district. Room rates for the 2025-26 academic year at Cristóbal de Moura range from 1,309 to 1,459 euros per month, while Pallars offers rates between 929 and 1,399 euros per month for the upcoming year. Reservations for the Esplugues project, slated for the 2026-27 year, are now open with prices ranging from 1,289 to 1,489 euros.
Next Phase
Porta Diagonal is already underway with construction of the Innovation Tower, its second asset. This building will encompass 20,700 square meters (approximately 223,000 square feet), reach a height of 100 meters (328 feet), and feature 23 floors. Designed by GCA and Architects, the tower is being developed by Emesa (the investment firm of businessman Emili Cuatrecasas) and OnixRenta. The Innovation Tower will combine corporate offices, flexible workspaces, ‘lab-ready’ floors, and commercial areas, and is expected to be completed in early 2028.
Both towers will be the highest points in Barcelona, reaching 214 meters above sea level. However, they are not the tallest structures in the city; the Hotel Arts and Torre Mapfre (154 meters) currently hold that distinction, followed by Torre Glòries (144 meters), the Habitat Sky hotel (115 meters), and the Hotel Porta Fira (113 meters).
Hotel Tower One and the Innovation Tower are part of the larger Porta Diagonal project, a 90,000-square-meter (approximately 969,000 square feet) development bringing together infrastructure and six projects focused on offices, hotels, retail, educational centers, medical assistance, and health and biomedical research. The total planned investment nears 250 million euros, and the project is led by Sacresa.
Both towers, which will be the highest points in Barcelona, are part of Porta Diagonal, the new 90,000 m² development bringing together infrastructure and six projects destined for offices, hotel, retail, training centers, medical assistance and research in health and biomedicine. With an estimated global investment of 250 million, Porta Diagonal is a project driven by Sacresa, the construction company of the Sanahuja family, and Emesa, with the collaboration of the Esplugues de Llobregat City Council.
“This combination of open spaces and a ‘mix’ of uses makes the area a unique enclave,” said Juan Manuel Sanahuja, CEO of Sacresa, in a statement. Inés Cuatrecasas, CEO of Emesa, highlighted that “the project is a good example of public-private collaboration that combines institutional leadership and innovation, with the participation of economic, health and academic actors in the metropolitan area.”
A Hub for Innovation and Health
A key component of the Porta Diagonal project is the future Centre de Medicina de Precisió de l’Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona (Precision Medicine Center of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu of Barcelona), which, along with its administrative building, will occupy an area of 13,877 square meters (approximately 149,000 square feet) distributed over six floors plus two basements. The center will be dedicated to the care, research, and training related to rare diseases of genetic and immunological origin, particularly in the pediatric field. Its opening is scheduled for September 2026.
The project will be completed with two additional buildings, one promoted by Emesa, whose use has not yet been defined, and the other by Sacresa, intended for offices and commercial premises. The forecasts indicate that the entire urban development project will be completed in 2029 to form part of the District of Innovation in Health of Esplugues, which will be aligned with the future campus of the Clínic Hospital in the city’s Health BioCluster.
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