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Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of Buenos Aires in the Central Business District. Occupying a significant portion of the italic=no riverbank, it is the site of several Tower block buildings and luxurious hotels, featuring the latest architectural trends. Puerto Madero has by far the highest of any barrio within Buenos Aires, surpassing the second-highest twofold.
In 1882, the national government contracted the local businessman Eduardo Madero to take charge of the construction of a new port which would solve these problems. Construction began in 1887 and was completed in 1897, although the installed fittings had been partially operative some years before completion of the port. It was a costly project and an engineering landmark at the time, but ten years after its completion the appearance of larger cargo ships made Puerto Madero obsolete.
The government had to then face the construction of a new port, this time contracting engineer Luis Huergo, whose plans for a port of staggered docks which would open directly onto the river was among those rejected in the 1880s. His plans resulted in the Puerto Nuevo (New Port), still operating today, whose first section opened in 1911.
On November 15, 1989, the Ministry of Works and Public Services, the Department of the Interior and the City of Buenos Aires signed the acts of incorporation of a joint-stock company denominated "Corporación Antiguo Puerto Madero" (Old Puerto Madero Corporation). Having as objective the urbanization of the area, the federal and city governments participated as egalitarian partners.
The 170 hectares of the place had overlapping jurisdictions: the General Administration of Ports, Argentine railroads and the "Junta Nacional de Granos" (National Grain Board) had interests in the zone. The signed agreement implied the transference of the totality of the area to the Old Puerto Madero Corporation S.A., whereas the government of the city remained in charge of the urban development regulations.
Puerto Madero has been redeveloped with international flair, drawing interest from businessmen, architects and designers such as Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, César Pelli, Alan Faena, Philippe Starck, among others. Today one of the trendiest boroughs in Buenos Aires, it has become the preferred address for growing numbers of young professionals and retirees, alike. Increasing property prices have also generated interest in the area as a destination for foreign buyers, particularly those in the market for premium investment properties.
The neighbourhood's road network has been entirely rebuilt, especially in the east side. The layout of the east side consists currently of three wide boulevards running east–west crossed by the east side's main street, Juana Manso Avenue. The layout is completed with some other avenues and minor streets, running both east–west and north–south, and by several Pedestrian zone streets.
Every street in Puerto Madero is named after a woman. The Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge), by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is the newest link between the east and west docks of Puerto Madero; a museum inaugurated in 2008, the Fortabat Art Collection, itself resulted from an initiative by Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (the wealthiest woman in Argentina).
Puerto Madero currently represents the largest Urban renewal in the city of Buenos Aires. Having undergone an impressive revival in merely a decade, it is one of the most successful recent waterfront renewal projects in the world. (1996). 9780070074545, McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 9780070074545
At Puerto Madero Dock 2 (between Azucena Villaflor and Rosario Vera Peñaloza) buildings belonging to the Universidad Católica Argentina stand successively to the west, and the Faena Hotel Buenos Aires (formerly Faena Hotel+Universe) is located to the east of Dock 2. Located on the corner of Aimé Painé (Mapuche princess and indigenous rights activist) and Rosario Vera Peñaloza, the modern Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza was inaugurated in 1996 and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who under the title of Stella Maris, or "Star of the Sea", is the patron saint of the Argentine Coast Guard. The docks aligned with Dock 2, between 1400 and 1500 of Avenida Moreau de Justo, are mostly occupied by various apartment buildings and offices of the Universidad Católica Argentina and its Pabellón de las Artes (Arts Pavilion), a space for art showings with access from the pedestrian side of the dock. Here, there are some bars and coffee shops.
Tall buildings have also emerged at the Dock 1, where is currently under construction the 198-metre (649 ft) tall Harbour Tower, set to be completed in 2024 as the second tallest skyscraper in Argentina.
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