Beautiful new ‘underwater’ £2.4bn town in Europe’s most expensive place to live

A beautiful new £2.4bn town built ‘underwater’ in Europe’s most expensive country to live will be completed early, according to developers.

The huge Mareterra project will make Monaco six hectares larger, and is set to be finished in eight month ahead of schedule, it was announced on Monday.

The small principality of two square kilometres – already home to 39,000 inhabitants – has already gained 40 hectares of extension into the sea since the 1950s, but this project launched in 2015 is unparalelled – as it’s actually built on an underwater embankment.

The future luxury district, located next to the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco’s elegant convention centre, has been constructed 50 metres below sea level.

It comprises of five buildings – with a total of 130 homes – and ten villas, in a project designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and the Vallode et Pistre practice.

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The homes are almost finshed, and almost all of them have been sold. Although prices remain confidential, the price per square metre can go up to a whopping 120,000 euros in Monaco.

What remains to be completed is the external landscaping, which is intended to be very green, with a pretty seafront promenade, a small harbour and a park open to the public.

“Mareterra is a real achievement for Monaco,” said Guy-Thomas Levy-Soussan, managing director of Anse du Portier, a group of private investors and Monegasque families.

“The sea is a new territory to conquer, but it must not be damaged”, he added, hoping that the project would demonstrate “that this is possible”.

Located between two underwater nature reserves, the development has created new habitats for the artifical reefs.

Mareterra is a new district under construction in Monaco, designed as an extension of the existing coastline from the Grimaldi Forum to the Formula One Grand Prix tunnel. It is a transformational project for the Principality.

A spokespeson for SAM L’Anse Du Portier, the company overseeing the development, said: “Mareterra is a transformational project for Monaco, and it promises to create a beautiful new community of residential, cultural, and recreational spaces that celebrates the spirit and sensations of the Mediterranean.”

The name ‘Mareterra’ is inspired by the two complementary elements of the project: the sea and the land. Developed using pioneering, sustainable building techniques, Mareterra lies at the heart of the Principality’s future growth, Le Soir reports.

And the development even appears to have won over royalty.

Prince Albert of Monaco said: “I wanted this new area to embody the excellence and conviviality which distinguish the Principality of Monaco so well.

“Mareterra will integrate perfectly with our shoreline, and in a few years will be seen as a natural extension of our territory.”

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