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No. 2 in the Top 20

Intempo

Intempo is Benidorm’s tallest building and Spain’s tallest residential building. For a long time it was above all one thing: the symbol of the burst property bubble.

Intempo, Benidorm
Photo: Axel Voigts
Benidorm skyline drawn from building data: heights to scale, west to east Poniente Levante TM Tower · 230 m Intempo · 187.1 m Gran Hotel Bali · 186 m Gran Delfín · 158 m Torre Lúgano · 158 m Sunset Sailors Tower 1 · 151 m Neguri Gane · 148 m Edificio Kronos · 140 m Benidorm Beach · 126 m Edificio Don Jorge · 124 m El Mirador del Mediterráneo · 123 m Torre Levante · 120 m Costa Blanca I · 116 m Miragolf Playa 2 · 115 m Gemelos 26 Torre I · 114 m Gemelos 26 Torre II · 114 m Torre d'Oboe I · 114 m Torre d'Oboe II · 114 m Sunset Sailors Tower 2 · 113 m Sol de Poniente 2 · 112 m Beni Beach · 110 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 2 · 106.2 m Miragolf Playa I · 105 m Playa Azul · 105 m Torre Pinar · 105 m Residencial Islamar 2 · 104 m Residencial Islamar 3 · 104 m Torre Poseidón · 103 m Sunset Waves I · 101.5 m Sunset Waves II · 101.5 m Hotel Port Benidorm · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 1 · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 2 · 101 m Torre Doscalas · 100.4 m Gemelos 22 Torre 1 · 100.2 m Gemelos 22 Torre 2 · 100.2 m Coblanca 41 · 97 m Delfín Tower · 95 m Hotel Flamingo Oasis · 95 m Gemelos 20 Torre 1 · 94 m Gemelos 20 Torre 2 · 94 m Torre Coblanca · 94 m Sol de Poniente 1 · 92.7 m Tropic-Mar · 92.6 m Edificio Ónice · 92 m Sunset Drive East · 92 m Sunset Drive West · 92 m Londres II · 91 m Torre Sakura · 91 m Costa Blanca II · 90 m Coblanca 40 Torre 1 · 89.3 m Coblanca 40 Torre 2 · 89.3 m Hotel Meliá Benidorm · 89.3 m Principado Marina · 89.3 m Edificio Circo · 89.2 m Torre Benidorm · 89 m Cibeles 1 · 88 m Cibeles 2 · 88 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 1 · 86.7 m Balcón de Poniente 1 · 86 m Balcón de Poniente 2 · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 1 · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 2 · 86 m Sierra de Bernia 1 · 85.9 m Sierra de Bernia 2 · 85.9 m Torre Capri · 85.9 m Torre San Remo · 85.9 m Gemelos 12 Torre 1 · 85 m Gemelos 12 Torre 2 · 85 m Las Damas · 85 m Sandos Benidorm Suites · 83 m Residencial Miranda 1 · 82.6 m Residencial Miranda 2 · 82.6 m Hotel RH Victoria · 82 m Parque Europa 1 · 82 m Parque Europa 2 · 82 m Old town

The story

The company behind the tower, Olga Urbana, was founded in 2004 with a share capital of just €3,100. It paid €54 million for the plot, financed with a €93 million loan from the savings bank Caixa Galicia. Construction began in 2007 and was due to finish in 2010.

Then came the financial crisis. Construction firms went bust or were left with unpaid bills, and the architects pulled out in 2013. The loan ended up with Sareb, Spain’s state-run bad bank. In 2014 the developer filed for insolvency with debts of €136 million. Two auctions failed.

The turnaround came only with the investment fund SVP Global: it bought the loan in 2017, became the owner in 2018 and had Dragados finish the tower. In July 2021, 14 years after ground was first broken, Intempo was complete. Apartments cost between €323,000 and €1.5 million for the golden ‘Diamante’ at the top.

Good to know

  • In 2013 a story went round the world that the lifts had been forgotten. It isn’t true: the tower has six lifts. A change of manufacturer merely required a different machine room.
  • The lifts travel at 4.2 metres per second – according to Wikipedia, the fastest in any Spanish residential building.
  • The height is disputed: the skyscraper database CTBUH gives 187 metres; counting an additional slab, a figure of 202 metres is also quoted.

Sources