Libertas invests €25 million in Seixal in hotel project
The property development company Libertas has invested €25 million in Seixal on the South bank of Lisbon’s River Tagus by converting a former cork processing factory into a hotel.
The former Mundet cork factory, which opened in 1905 and became the largest in the world, employing over 2,500 people, went bankrupt in 1988, and has now given way to the Upon Harbor, a four-star apartment hotel.
In 1905, the Catalan Mundet family founded the cork company L. Mundet & Sons on the former Quinta dos Franceses estate in Seixal.
Led by Lorenzo Mundet and initially managed by his son-in-law Luis Gubert, it would become the largest cork processor in the world, employing over 2,500 people, mostly women.
At the time of the 25th of April 1974, the company was in financial ruin due to mismanagement and embezzlement by the administration. The workers occupied the factory and created an administrative committee, initiating a period of self-management.
Mundet managed to turn the situation around, but collapsed again in the following decade, going bankrupt in 1988.
Located opposite the Seixal bay and with lovely views over the Tagus River and Lisbon, the factory was abandoned for more than 30 years, until the Portuguese real estate group Libertas moved forward with the project to transform one of the most emblematic industrial spaces on the south bank into a tourist hotel.
Following a €25 million investment in the refurbishment of the Mundet factory, Upon Harbor, a new four-star hotel with 102 accommodation units, ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, totaling 264 beds, has just opened.
Managed by StayUpon Hotels & Resorts, the apartments at Upon Harbour feature décor with cork accents in wallpaper, tables, and lighting fixtures.
The hotel, which represents the creation of 60 jobs, also offers leisure areas with a panoramic rooftop pool, gym, sauna, and two spaces on the riverfront for meetings and events.
“We want to position the Seixal destination and this hotel as one of the best ‘balconies’ overlooking the Tagus River and Lisbon, a place where the historical legacy of Mundet embraces the incredible bay where the development is located, inviting those who live in the capital, as well as clients residing elsewhere, to discover or rediscover Seixal and all its offerings, which are truly vibrant,” emphasizes Celine Gonçalves, administrator of the StayUpon group.
Source and Credits: Libertas
