The government has closed the purchase of the mansion at 19 Castellana in Madrid to house the General State Prosecutor’s Office. The operation was signed through the Directorate General of Heritage, an arm of the Ministry of Finance, and the price of 67.44 million euros marks a near-record for the city’s main avenue. This move centralizes the prosecution’s presence in central Madrid and signals a long-term commitment to a single, prominent headquarters. (Market sources)
The terms of the sale were agreed on January 9. However, occupancy will not be possible until year-end because the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, a state-backed insurer with private funding, is carrying out a comprehensive renovation of the building. The refurbishment has a budget of about 8 to 9 million euros and is led by Ruiz-Larrea Arquitectura, MADC, and Bovis. The work aims to preserve heritage features while modernizing facilities for official use. (Industry sources)
With the closing of the deal, months of tension and negotiations between the General State Prosecutor’s Office and the insurer come to an end. The prosecutors had sought to unify their two current offices and chose this property, but they faced opposition from the insurer, which manages the asset with a degree of independence from the central administration. (Market observers)
The insurer has a patrimonial investment profile: it buys and rents properties to preserve capital. Its plan was to lease the renovated building to a third party, and informal discussions with prospective tenants had taken place, but the aims of the state prosecutor’s office ultimately prevailed. (Industry analysis)
Un precio récord
The building spans a constructed area of 6,180 square meters, a usable area of 5,930 square meters, and a computable area of 4,600 square meters. When looking at usable space, the price paid by the Directorate General of Heritage is 11,372 euros per usable square meter; considering the computable area, the rate rises to 14,660 euros per square meter, a figure that would be a record on Castellana. By comparison, the last major operation on the boulevard in 2022 involved the sale of the former La Caixa headquarters at Castellana 51 for 238.5 million euros, implying values around 12,750 to 13,000 euros per square meter in that instance. (Market data)
The difference between the Castellana 51 sale and this operation lies in the condition of the assets: 51 was sold in a very different state than Castellana 19, which benefits from a fully completed renovation and is nearly ready for occupancy by prosecutors. Market insiders consider the agreed price for Castellana 19 to be reasonable given the pending improvements and the strategic location. (Industry assessments)
New Prosecution Headquarters
The Castellana 19 building was completed in 1903 as the Palace of Don Pablo del Puerto. It was designed by the Basque architect Miguel de Olabarría Zuaznábar and the Madrid-born Benito González del Valle. The last major modernization occurred in 1986, converting the residence into offices and altering the historic carriage entrance into a ramped garage level. (Historical records)
The property is split into two sections: a five-story block and a three-story block with a central courtyard between them. Until 2018 it served as the headquarters of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) before being sold to the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros for 29.2 million euros. Madrid’s City Hall classifies the asset as protected, and the ongoing renovation preserves key historic elements such as the first floor line of the original façade, the rear balcony gallery, and the forged columns of the patio. The project also aims to restore the building’s historic access to Castellana. (Heritage records)