No. 37 of 84 in the list
Coblanca 41
Coblanca 41 stands on Avenida del Mediterráneo, three minutes from Levante beach. The 97-metre tower from 2007 bears the name of a brand under which numbered buildings have been going up in Benidorm since the sixties; today the group of Isidro Bononat stands behind it.
The story
The tower was built between 2005 and 2007. CTBUH counts 28 floors above ground and three below, Spanish Wikipedia 30 floors; the height of 97 metres is undisputed. As developer CTBUH simply names ‘Coblanca’. The Valencian firm Estudio En Blanco lists the building, with 2,565 square metres, as a project of its own; whether as design architect or only for the interior fit-out remains open.
The building belongs to the younger generation of Levante towers and is equipped accordingly: pool (heated, according to the letting agent), gym, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. Many apartments are let to holidaymakers, with sea views from the middle floors up; the Casino Mediterráneo is twelve minutes’ walk away, the bus stop right outside the door.
The Coblanca series
The name points to one of the city’s oldest building brands. The series began with the Torre Coblanca, built between 1963 and 1966 to plans by Juan Guardiola Gaya, a ‘milestone in construction’ in Benidorm according to the blog Astrolabio. Then came Coblanca 3, 8, 15, 16, 20 and many more. Behind the group today is Isidro Bononat de Nalda, who according to Valencia Plaza has put up around 50 buildings in the Comunidad Valenciana through the Coblanca International Group and holds posts in some 50 companies, many of them based on Avenida Bilbao in Benidorm.
Bononat was also a co-shareholder of Olga Urbana, the company behind Intempo, and was removed as administrator there in the dispute over its completion. In 2013 the local newspaper Información reported that Coblanca had halted building projects because of the crisis and wanted to resume them only once the economy improved. By then Coblanca 41 had been finished for six years – finished before the group stopped its projects in 2013.
Good to know
- Three basement levels, two lifts, concrete construction (CTBUH).
- In-house spa: sauna, steam room and jacuzzi alongside pool and gym.
- Levante beach around 180 metres away, bus stop around 50 metres.
Open questions
- Number of floors: 28 (CTBUH) versus 30 (Spanish Wikipedia); one source may be counting plant or basement levels.
- The architect is not clearly documented; Estudio En Blanco lists the building without naming its own role.
- Number of apartments, contractor and sale prices are not known.
Sources
- CTBUH Skyscraper Center – Coblanca 41
- Estudio En Blanco – Edificio Coblanca 41
- Valencia Plaza – Bononat founds a new developer, 2018
- Información – Coblanca y Feito Rico, 2013
- Wikipedia ES – Torre Coblanca
- Debod Homes – Coblanca 41 facilities
- Wikipedia ES – Tallest buildings in Benidorm
- Astrolabio – the first skyscrapers, 2013