Location³

The location topic is the oldest cliche in real estate, but it was a critical focus for us.  We spent over a year searching for the right property in the right place.  Ultimately, we found it in a neighborhood that was not our first choice.  However, this spot is unique.

View TerraPlana in a larger map

This map displays some critical facts:

First, the property is in a small group of houses that are somewhat isolated from neighbors.  This is useful because only two of the neighboring properties are residential.  This greatly limits potential problems with residential neighbors (noise complaints etc).  The old city in Porto is densely populated, so this is a unique plus for our property.

Second, the map shows that the property is on a wide tree-lined avenue (Avenida Rodrigues de Freitas).  Tree lined avenues are very rare in Porto.  The city is characteristically medieval (in fact, it is among the oldest cities in southern Europe).   The roads were never intended for modern trafic, and the antique stone architecture does not present any opportunity for improving access to cars.  Sadly, pedestrian sidewalks generally suffer.  In most parts of the city, the pedestrian sidewalk is only one meter wide (often less).  However Avenida Rodrigues Freitas was clearly designed to be a significant road, and although the neighborhood has fallen somewhat out of favor, it still retains some nice features.  In addition to the wide tree-lined sidewalk, the avenue is dotted with significant architectural monuments.  The area remains an important junction joining downtown Porto with all points to the east.  Although there is some road traffic, TerraPlana is insulated by the wide sidewalk, on-street parking, and a particularly nice tree directly in front of the building.

The third thing that can be gathered from this map is the orientation of the property.  The street front of the property is north facing, however, the building has a very large, south facing garden.  The garden is the outstanding attribute because there are no buildings to obstruct constant direct sunlight onto the garden and into the rear of the building.  The climate in Porto is ideal, spring and fall are warm and pleasant, summer can be hot, but is generally not unbearable.  Even in the winter, the rainy days tend to be interrupted with moments of brilliant sunlight.  It is likely that the garden of TerraPlana will be the main focus for clients for nearly 10 months of the year.

Finally, it is worth pointing out a few of our immediate neighbors.  The placards shown below are common sites around Porto, the top gives a brief description in Portuguese, and the bottom gives the same information in English (sometimes crudely translated).  Common as these placards are, it's still unusual to have so many of them within 50 meters of each other.

Jardim de São Lázaro (Jardim de Marques de Oliveira)

Mention the official name of this park, 'Jardim de Marques de Oliveira' and you are likely to be met with a blank stare by most Porto residents.  Mention the more common name 'Jardim de São Lázaro' and most Porto residents will probably think you are interested in finding a cheap prostitute.  None the less, the park is really picturesque, well maintained, and although small, very pleasant (especially if you are interested in finding a cheap prostitute).

Directly behind the park, and across the street from TerraPlana is the Municipal Library (Biblioteca Municipal)

Biblioteca Municipal (Convent de Santo António da Cidade)

The Municipal Library is a really beautiful building.  Inside, it is built around an impressive interior courtyard.  It also houses some of the archives of the city.  In the picture below, you can see a little damage on the far side (some broken balcony railings and windows).  This winter, one of the tree's in São Lázaro park fell over in the wind and crashed into the library.  It was really sad because the tree was the oldest in the park.

Across the street from the park to the south is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Esperança (Church of Our Lady of Hope).  It is particularly for having been designed by the great 18th century Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni. 

Nossa Senhora da Esperança (Church of Our Lady of Hope)

Nasoni is really significant in Porto.  He left his mark on almost every significant building from the 18th century, and helped define the Portuguese Baroque style.  Having one of his buildings as a neighbor is pretty special.  Below is the view from São Lázaro park.

University of Porto School of Fine Arts

Finally (as if these monuments were not enough) there is the real reason that we believe this location is a great place for a bar.  Just up the street from all these monuments is the University of Porto Faculdade de Belas Artes (University of Porto School of Fine Arts).

The University of Porto is a very good European university.  It is well respected in Europe, and hosts many international students.  Being situated next to the university might seem a drawback for anything but a college oriented bar, but the School of Fine Arts is something quite special... These will be good customers to have!

One last picture to tie it all together...  This is a view of the street showing the tight cluster of significant buildings surrounding TerraPlana: