The Design District in the Southwest of Mallorca: Interview with Gloria Rodríguez, President of Mallorca Design District
The Southwest of Mallorca is one of the most coveted and sought-after areas on the island in the real estate sector. Its privileged location and the quality of the luxury villas that adorn its coast make it the place where everyone wants to be and invest. Five years ago, key entrepreneurs and companies in the luxury living sector, established in the Son Bugadelles industrial park in Calviá, in the Southwest, came together to create what we now know as the Mallorca Design District. Now, they welcome a new president: Gloria Rodríguez, co-founder and director of the real estate agency Mallorca Site.
How would you define the Mallorca Design District (MADD) to someone who is discovering it for the first time?
MADD is a non-profit association that combines real estate, construction, interior design and lifestyle. We take the world of living to another level.
How did this concept originate in the context of an industrial area such as the Son Bugadelles industrial park in Calviá?
More than 20 years ago, a native from Miami, Florida, Craig Robins, walking through a run-down neighbourhood, thought about how he could help rehabilitate the area. During the 1980s and 1990s, Robins bought up abandoned buildings and gradually turned them into Miami’s top neighbourhood, the Miami Design District. This was the source of inspiration for the development of MADD.
In the 07180 postcode, the best companies in the living sector have organically settled here. So we didn’t need to start from scratch, the companies were already here; we just needed to bring them together. This is how our association was born.
What is the involvement of Calviá Town Hall in the project, considering its location in the southwest of Mallorca, and how has this collaboration impacted the development of the Mallorca Design District?
We have had the support of the Calviá Town Hall since the foundation of the association in 2019, but it is since this new legislature that we have had more involvement. We are working hand in hand with the Calviá Town Hall to project our dream: a shopping boulevard where you can walk around, with restaurants at the same level as the companies and showrooms that are part of it. This project is viable and is in the design process with the help of one of our partners, Jardins de Tramuntana.
Apart from the showrooms and partner spaces, what do you consider to be the greatest value of MADD for the local community and visitors?
MADD, apart from being a physical district in the 07180 postcode, is an association that has several initiatives for its members and for the island in general. The following actions stand out:
- Maddnet: Strengthening the relationship between the different partners.
- Madd Trainings: Training and coaching for businesses.
- Madders: Making the brands of the MADD partners known and discovering who is behind them.
- Madd The Best 2024: A new series of events open to any business or professional in which the Madd Talks stand out. An initiative that we are sure you have heard about recently in Mallorca due to its great success in terms of attendance and media coverage.
What do MADD members offer to foreign clients interested in buying a property on the island?
MADD members offer everything a foreign and national client needs to buy a property on the island. As I mentioned before, the sectors that the association groups together are real estate, construction, interior design and lifestyle. Therefore, a client who comes to our district can find everything they need, from the initial search for a property to its renovation or decoration. We are fortunate to have great professionals specialising in all these related sectors. Within the lifestyle area, we have wine and gourmet food distribution companies, which complete our offer.
How do you manage to turn an industrial park into a shopping destination oriented towards the design luxury sector?
The Son Bugadellas industrial park has never been a productive district, but rather a district with showrooms and companies in the living sector that have settled there. It is the heart of the Southwest, the central junction between Palma and Andratx, where the living sector is the strongest on the island. It has good communications, just a step away from the motorway. All that is needed is to improve the pavements, improve parking areas, landscaping and make it attractive so that the best restaurants will want to open new premises, attracting locals and foreigners and converting it into an open-air living sector shopping centre.
As the newly appointed president of MADD, what do you consider to be your main challenges and what is your long-term vision?
The main challenge is to get people excited about the project. In Mallorca, it is difficult to get people to participate in this type of initiative, let alone get them involved. It is a very beautiful long-term project and that makes it more complex if possible, but we are working with great enthusiasm from the MADD board and I think we will get many more people excited. We need more members in order to have ‘muscle’ and develop all the plans we have in mind.
As well as being the new president of MADD, you are also the owner of a real estate agency, Mallorca Site. What is your opinion of the current real estate market in Mallorca and how do you see it aligning with the development of MADD?
The real estate market in Mallorca is a premium market. As designer Marcel Wanders told us at the MADD Talks, Mallorca has its own distinctive brand. Mallorca ticks all the boxes that an investor or future buyer could wish for (infrastructure, flight connections, education, hospitals, beautiful landscapes, culture, gastronomy and, of course, our Mediterranean).
MADD associates are a benchmark in offering the professional quality expected from Mallorca. In the same MADD Talks, Drew Aaron, founder of Gallery RED and co-founder of Lionsgate Capital, commented that the Americans have an interest in our ‘Mediterranean Lifestyle’, so it is clear that Mallorca is in vogue and if we do our homework well, we will not die of success.
Thanks to teamwork and public-private collaboration, such as the one we are carrying out from MADD, we will guarantee a buoyant real estate market without neglecting the services and the citizens who live on the island.
How does Lionsgate Capital contribute to the value and growth of MADD, considering its leadership in the mortgage brokerage business in the Balearics and its active support of the association?
Lionsgate Capital brings significant value to MADD through its expertise and leadership in mortgage brokerage. In the living sector, financing is essential for the full development of the companies within it. In real estate, in particular, the ability to offer robust financial solutions to our clients is fundamental to providing the professional service for which we are known. Close collaboration with the agencies located in the district not only enhances our offerings, but also strengthens the MADD network, making Lionsgate Capital an ideal and valuable partner for our association.
What is your favourite Sunday plan in Mallorca?
Haha, I’m hard to narrow it down, it depends on the Sunday. I love spending family time outdoors, going out on a boat, walking in the mountains, enjoying a good book, organising an event with friends around the barbecue or making paella, dancing sevillanas or singing with a microphone. I am great at improvising and this island allows it. In very little travel time, I can do not only one of these activities, but several in the same day or none of the above; Sundays are also usually days to reconnect with myself, so the plan and the offer is diverse.
Interview by Juanita Casanas and Drew Aaron
President and Chairman of Lionsgate Capital
Their goal at Lionsgate Capital is to create unparalleled solutions for the most demanding clients and create value through service, making Lionsgate Capital the major player for financing in the Balearic Islands and mainland Spain.
