Sky Capital, a Mérida-based real estate development firm, has broken ground on the construction of Yucatán’s first skyscraper.
The skyscraper, called The Sky, is expected to be completed by December 2023 and be 160 meters and 36 stories tall, plus six parking levels.
The total area of the complex, at kilometer 30 on Mérida’s Periférico Norte northwest of City Center, will cover over 35,000 square meters and will include residential areas, office spaces, shopping areas, an executive sky lounge and restaurants.
Highrises abound in Mérida, but most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 to 150 meters in height.
“Projects like this prove that Yucatán is well on its way to recovering from the economic devastation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Yucatán Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal while presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony.
At Monday’s event, Sky Capital co-founder Roberto Serrano was bullish on Yucatán’s future, predicting a positive economic environment for the next six to eight years in the housing, commercial, hotel, health, and tourism sectors.
Plans for the Skyscraper were formally announced last January, although billboards and banners advertising the project were placed at the construction site several months before.
The construction project is expected to generate 800 new jobs and comes with a price tag of 1.8 billion pesos / US$91 million.
Earlier: Yucatán leads the region in new real estate development
However, some in Yucatán are wary of large-scale development projects beyond the periferico that worsen problems such as urban sprawl, deforestation, and traffic — while placing excessive stress on limited resources such as the water table.
Developers have already begun to market the project across Mexico and the United States in hopes of attracting buyers from out of state.
According to estimates by Mérida Mayor Renán Barrera Concha, anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 people come to live in Mérida each year.
The Mérida-based architecture firm Seijo Peon provided a rendering that indicates a flat-fronted glass building, diagonally divided on its side, towering over traffic from a south-facing slope on a section of highway loop that surrounds Yucatán’s capital.
The same architect and developer teamed to build the SkyCity complex in San Ramon Norte.
