If there’s an apartment building in Medellin where I aspire to live, it’s the Nueva Alejandria.
From the convenient location along Poblado’s Milla de Oro (Golden Mile), to the floor-to-ceiling windows and the city’s only residential rooftop pool, this is the kind of building I’d one day like to call home.
In 2012, I had the chance to spend a week in one of the units, so I speak from experience. The building was also featured on an episode of HGTV’s House Hunters International.
Let’s take a closer look at what makes the apartments in this building not only desirable but terrific value for your money too.
Location
Situated a block up from Avenida Poblado, you’re within a five-minute walk of many of Medellin’s newest shopping centers, bars, restaurants and dance clubs.
The Santa Fe, Oviedo, La Strada and Rio Sur malls are all right outside your door, as are several Carulla supermarkets which are similar to Whole Foods in the US.
The Bodytech gym in Rio Sur is the only “Platino” version in Medellin, meaning it offers extra services. There are only two others in Colombia, and they’re both in Bogota.
Parque Poblado is a five to ten minute walk north. From there, you can turn west on Calle 10 and it’s a ten minute walk to the Poblado metro. Turn east, and it’s a ten minute walk up to Parque Lleras (or a $2.50 taxi from the building if it’s raining).
There are quite a few medical offices along Avenida Poblado too, and Clinica Las Vegas is a very short bus or taxi ride down to Avenida Las Vegas.
In short, the location is perfect whether you’re visiting the city short-term as a business or leisure traveler, or plan to live here.
The Apartments and Amenities
The Nueva Alejandria is a 24-story building that opened in mid-2010. It was specifically designed with young, 30-something professionals in mind.
The building was designed by Fajardo Moreno Arquitectos, a firm run by the brother of former mayor Sergio Fajardo, who is credited with the city’s urban renewal in the mid-2000’s.
Construction was handled by Ménsula Ingenieros S.A., a Colombian company with a strong reputation for hiring top-notch engineers, and not skimping on quality and materials.
One, two and three bedroom units from 54m2 to 103m2 (600-1100 sq ft) are available across seven different floor plans.
Floor to ceiling windows are a unique feature in many of the apartments, and one that won me over in an instant.
In addition to sweeping views of the city, the apartments fill with sunlight during the day (reducing energy costs).
The kitchens feature modern appliances and granite countertops. When renting a furnished apartment, you’ll also have access to a washing machine in a utility closet.
Facilities
Nueva Alejandria features a rooftop pool and terrace, which is one of the highlights of the building for anyone who visits or stays there. From the top, you have near-360 degree views of the city.
The building also features a gym, sauna, steam room and theater, and there’s security in the main lobby 24/7.
Cost
NuevaAlejandria.co is backed by Propiedad Raiz Casacol SAS, a full service Colombian real estate company and member of the Real Estate Association of Medellin. The agency that administers the building prides themselves on client service and support.
Furnished apartment rentals start at $1,200/month, or you can get unfurnished units for as little as $600/month.
If you’re in the market to buy, one bedroom apartments start at 270,000,000 pesos, or roughly $135,000 USD.
For more information, check out the Nueva Alejandria website.
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This post was brought to you by NuevaAlejandria.co.
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Apartments for less? I wouldn’t call a one-bedroom apartment for $135,000 as an “apartment for less”. That 270,000,000 pesos cost to buy a one bedroom 54 square meter apartment works out to 5,000,000 pesos per square meter, which is the going rate in El Poblado for new apartments per a recent article in elColombiano. That works out to $229 per square foot, which is more expensive than many places in the US. But this is the most expensive neighborhood in Medellín, which has costs that can be similar to costs found in many cities in the US. But if you go to other neighborhoods in Medellín the price for new apartments drops dramatically, here is the average cost per square meter for new apartments in other neighborhoods per Lonja de Propiedad Raiz de Medellín:
Envigado – 2,660,741 pesos
Sabaneta – 2,383,822 pesos
Itagüí – 1,805,156 pesos
Bello – 1,624,387
The bottom line is that it is much cheaper to live somewhere other than El Poblado in Medellín. I lived in El Poblado for a few months and I now rarely go there and I much prefer living in Belén where I live now. The cost of living is much lower in Belén. I am located a short walking distance to Centro Comercial Los Molinos and a Metroplus station for easy Metro access to travel around Medellín cheaply. Plus I have a better view of the city than many apartments I have been to in El Poblado, plus an apartment pool, gym, and 24 hour security.
No balcony! Forgetaboutit
The tiles look cheap as do the windows. What is with the chimney next to the pool?
$5,000.000 COP per square meter is not good value for money, especially considering the building is 4 years old.
I would expect to pay $5,000,000 per square meter in Cartagena and Bogota, certainly not in Medellin.
I’m not sure about its primary purpose, but there are shower heads on it so you can wash off after using the pool.
That is nice. The view looks good.
Jeff, you can equate Medellin to cities like NYC in many ways – have you ever lived in NYC? Not everyone can afford to live in Manhattan but the convenience and life style is worth it for many. Having said that, parts of Brooklyn and Queens are awesome places to live as well, as are parts of Laureles, Belen or Envigado to your point. Living in Poblado is a lifestyle choice, and of the 978 buildings (yes there are exactly 978 in Poblado proper) you’d be hard pressed to find a more convenient or better equipped building than ours. The selection, rental prices, service and investor value we have here at Nueva Alejandria are tough to beat in Medellin. Come visit any time if you want to check it out for yourself, 300 547 1031.
Comparing Medellin to NYC is bit of a stretch. Bogota would be the only accurate comparison to NYC as far as Colombian cities are concerned. I agree that living in Poblado is a “lifestyle” choice which is a classy way of saying pretentious. I’m going to be staying in Medellin from June of 2014 to at least August 2014 so I’m in the market for a furnished short term rental but I want to experience normal Colombian life and not the tacky fish bowl that is living in Poblado. As security improves in Colombia and in Medellin the smart investor will put their money into the communities that Jeff listed.
Jeff please email recommendations for Belen rentals with fast internet, close to pubic transport and building security.
Hi Trey, I rent an unfurnished apartment in Belén that I furnished – which has 10MB Internet, is one black from Metroplus public transport and 2 blocks to a large mall and has 24×7 security. So unfortunately I don’t have a furnished apartment recommendation for you in Belén.
Unfortunately this website really doesn’t really offer much in the way of apartment rental advice as I understand Dave lives in a room in a shared apartment so he doesn’t have experience renting an unfurnished or fully furnished complete apartment in Medellín.
Most of the apartment rentals catering to foreigners in Medellín are rented by The Apartment Medellin and First American Realty (sister companies) and they have furnished apartments only in El Poblado to my knowledge. I rented furnished apartments in El Poblado from The Apartment Medellin a couple of times several years ago when I first discovered Medellín and had good experiences. You can also find some furnished apartments on Airbnb and backpage that are located outside of El Poblado. You can also find furnished rooms to rent and some complete furnished apartments on CompartoApto (in Spanish).
Renting unfurnished apartments in Medellín is more complex as you typically need someone from Colombia to act as a fiador (guarantor) to cosign. I was lucky to find a real estate agent who didn’t require a fiador through an ad I ran in the local paper and I have now rented unfurnished apartments in Medellín for several years. A pretty good web site to find unfurnished apartments in Medellín is Espacio Urbano. Note that it takes a local ID (cedula) to set up Internet/TV/Phone services but you don’t need a cedula to rent an unfurnished apartment.
Thanks for the plug Jeff.
It’s true we do have 90% of our furnished apartments in Poblado with a few in Envigado. We cater primarily to the tourist market so there is still very little knowledge in that community of the areas outside of Poblado. We find that once people are looking to live in other areas they are also able to sort themselves out with finding their own accommodation and don’t need our assistance any more.
Andrew Campion – The Apartment Medellin
I live in Poblado and don’t consider my neighborhood (Ciudad del Rio) pretentious. I also don’t think I’m pretentious for choosing to live here.
It’s a big comuna (100,000 people), and I get why some foreigners reject it outright, but I don’t think that makes living here any less authentic an experience than choosing a more middle/working class area of the city. Wherever you live, your experience will be what you make of it.
My advice is to go where you feel you’ll be happiest, but please don’t put down other people’s choices in the same breath.
I live in San Diego, have a young wife 2 kids[8-10] they speak Spanish I’m 65.I want to get out of here quick . Need schools[English] can afford 5000$ a month to live on. I have lived in Costa Rica.Needs some contacts.Thanks John
Hi jmcdermott60, for school for kids I would recommend The Columbus School, which provides a US style education for expatriate children and Colombian children. $5000/mo should be plenty to live on for a family of 4 in Medellín. I am paying less than $600/month to rent a three bedroom/two bath apartment in a high rise in Belén with two balconies with incredible views of the city. I have been living in Medellín for over three years – happy to provide my contact info (ask Dave). I would be happy to set you up with my real estate agent who can help find an unfurnished apartment rental without the need for a fiador.
Hi Jeff! ¿Como estate usted? Al again from Georgia born & raised in NYC. Brother, Belen sounds very interesting! 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $600 USD. I suspect we are going to be friends.!!! To reiterate I will be visiting the summer of 2015. Hope to make your acquaintance.
Hi Al, thanks. Yes. I like living in Belén, which is definitely a cheaper place to live than El Poblado. The 3-bedroom/2-bath apartment I am in actually works out to a net of $526 per for the next year. I rent my parking space for 70,000 pesos per month since I don’t have a car.
I exchanged sufficient funds early this year when the exchange rate was 2,054 Colombian pesos to the USD to enable paying a year of rent in advance. The exchange rate is now over 2,000 pesos again. The exchange rate has been above 2,000 pesos for only five short periods in the past five years – so it’s a good time to exchange USD to pesos.
Good day…How far is Belen from El Poblado? Also what is nightlife there.
Thanks I have been to El Poblado many times and usually stay at Energy Living, a cool apartment building not far from Parque lleras.
Hi Ray,
Belén is a large comuna located west of the river from El Poblado. The eastern parts of Belén are very close to El Poblado while the western parts of Belén are further away. Read here for more info about Belén – http://medellinliving.com/belen/
Wow! It’s amazing. I liked so much rooftop pool with view. That’s really great.
Thanks for the information , Dave. Good work my friend. I have lived two years in Cuenca, Ecuador and , with Dave’s help , I will soon be living in Medellin , Colombia .
This building is very expensive, although it is in a great location and quite nice with fantastic views. The floor to ceiling windows are great. When I was buying my apartment I looked all over, including this one. I could however, never justify 270 M for a 54 sq m apartment, when I bought (and saw many) older buildings for so much cheaper. As an EG 230,000,000 for a 146 sq metre place not far from this one; with balcony / pool etc. Not rooftop – however I am willing to forgo that.
The other thing to keep in mind between the newer and older buildings is the quality of construction. The older buildings are generally so much better quality. I am not specifically referring to this building here; it is a general comment.
This building was also featured on House Hunters international.
Bick,
I am coming to Medellin to shop for an apartment from Texas in June-July. My wife is from Colombia, near Bogota.
What is the address for your building, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a good apartment in your building.
Andy
Im moving to Medellin this upcoming winter so this is worth a look. Thanks Dave