Decathlon snaps up Baptista Russo building

An iconic Lisbon building which once belonged to the Baptista Russo family is to become the flagship store of sport retail outlet Decathlon.

The building, which stood empty and dilapidated for years, is located on Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa and in addition to the store also has space set aside for offices and food outlet areas.

The building is currently being totally refurbished, with works expected to be completed by October this year.

The consultant Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed to commercialise the space not taken up by the Decathlon megastore.

The complex will comprise the Decathlon store, two floors of offices, a food court, five padel courts (a racket sport) and parking. 

The areas set aside for offices are between 468m2 to 938m2 and is located on the second and third floors of the building while the 440m2 food court is to be built into the roof area and will include an esplanade.

Carlos Oliveira, partner and director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Offices Department says, “This is an excellent opportunity for companies looking for new premises for their business operations  within a part of the city which is still expanding and which benefits from excellent shopping, services and transport facilities.”

According to Decathlon which has invested €16 million in the project, “The opening of this new store in the Eastern zone of Lisbon fits in with the company’s mission to bring sports to the greatest number possible of Portuguese.”

The building once belonged to the car sales company Francisco Batista Russo e Irmão which was founded in Rua das Picoas in Lisbon in 1926 by Francisco Baptista Russo who began his activities by importing tyres from the British brand Avon, German lorries MAN and scooters Diana in the last century.