The first Moxy Hotel in Portugal is completed, and the foundations have already been laid for the office tower that is part of the complex. Entrepreneur Claude Kandiyoti called it “no man’s land.” While Expo’98 revitalized the eastern area of Lisbon with a vast residential complex, services, and commerce, on the other side of the railway line, the contrast is evident, with vacant lots and abandoned areas. In 2015, the Belgian entrepreneur wanted to invest in the Portuguese capital and remembered the words of his mentor when he ventured into his first real estate business: “If you find land near a train station, buy it.” Located in front of Gare do Oriente, the land gave rise to two buildings, which will be part of a future business complex: the Moxy Hotel, from the Marriott group, which is completed and is expected to be inaugurated by September, and an office tower — the K Tower — with 14 floors and 15,000 square meters of area, which is now under construction. The total investment, by Krest Real Estate Investments, was €50 million, and the entrepreneur admits to closing the sale of the offices — managed by JLL — before the completion of the building. “There are few spaces available for offices, and we were negotiating at a good pace before the lockdown. Now companies are at a standstill, assessing how to manage this crisis, but I believe very much in this project,” said the CEO of the Belgian company to Expresso this week, during the presentation of the first Moxy Hotel in Portugal. It is a unit of the Marriott group more geared towards “the millennial generation.” With 222 rooms — some with river views — high-speed internet services, parking, a gym, meeting rooms, a library, and terraces, the three-star hotel is part of Claude’s concept and vision, which focuses on sustainability, environmentally friendly buildings, and reduced dependence on cars. The idea of building a hotel and an office tower, Claude recalls to Expresso, arose “a day after” he bought those two plots near the railway line. At a time when Portugal was under financial rescue, with the economy in tatters, the entrepreneur bet everything. “Everyone told me that Portugal was going bankrupt. Who will invest in offices or hotels at a time like this?” they asked me. They said I was crazy,” says Kandiyoti, who did not succumb to the most pessimistic predictions. “This will be a project for large companies,” he told Expresso, sitting in the lobby of Moxy Lisboa Oriente, the hotel’s main space, spacious, with a strong contemporary and industrial aesthetic. “The design approach was based on the guidelines of this lifestyle brand and the location where the building is situated. The industrial character of the area, the steep slope of the land, and the pre-existing urban art were undoubtedly a source of inspiration,” said Margarida Caldeira, architect, director of the Portuguese office of Broadway Malyan, who ensured the project of the hotel, whose main decorative features in the lobby are tiles with contemporary designs referencing traditional Portuguese patterns and large pieces of street art. Overlooking the lobby, there is a mezzanine with multi-space rooms, including a gym, a meeting place where guests can work, meet, or chat at communal tables or a mix of comfortable sofas and chairs,” explained architect Margarida Caldeira. Krest Real Estate Investments has been in Portugal since 2010. The family made a fortune in the textile industry, and it was through the purchase of a warehouse for the company, in Paços de Ferreira, that the real estate business began to emerge, later investing in the purchase of 11 properties from the state.