Piantini is currently considered the most sought-after area, due to its central location and the fact that land is becoming increasingly scarce
SANTO DOMINGO– Its privileged location makes the Piantini Extension, located in the central area of the Dominican capital, currently the most desirable neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.
The most coveted place to live or invest, and where land is offered at the highest prices on the market.
Located between Gustavo Mejía Ricart, Abraham Lincoln, 27 de Febrero and Winston Churchill avenues, in the National District, Piantini is the sector where the average square meter is most expensive, according to the price index of the General Directorate of National Cadastre (DGCN), in its latest study carried out in 2017 and whose validity expires next year.
Law 150-14 grants this entity the exclusive authority to conduct market studies to determine land valuations throughout the country. These studies are carried out every 5 years in urban areas and every 10 years in rural areas.
According to the study posted on the state entity's website, in some sections of avenues such as Anacaona, Nuñez de Cáceres, Presidente Antonio Guzmán (Privada), Rómulo Betancourt and Sarasota the price per square meter exceeds that of Piantini; however, when averaged, the exclusive sector takes the lead.
“We are already taking steps to update that data, but in the meantime, it remains valid. Of course, the cadastral value is never the same as the market value,” explains architect Cindy Carrera, head of the Valuation Department at the DGCN.
An apartment in a luxury tower in Piantini, measuring 85 square meters, costs US$205,000; while one of 90 square meters can reach the sum of US$235,000; while an apartment of 157 square meters costs US$288,000; and one of 195 square meters costs US$360,000.
“Piantini is a gold mine because it concentrates the entire Financial Center,” states Elbanira Morales de Zacarias, an executive at Constructora Melatti, which is currently building the Shalom Residences and Royal towers in the area.
In the modern towers currently being built by various developers, the price per square meter of an apartment ranges from US$1,800 to US$2,600; rising in some cases to US$3,000 per square meter.
The executive says that investments have grown with the opening of large shopping centers, restaurants and residential projects with luxury amenities and features, and corporate buildings that house important offices.
It states that land in Piantini is becoming increasingly scarce, making it even more coveted.
A bit of history
According to the publication of the newspaper Hoy (genealogical capsules, Areito section 16-04-2007), the Piantini family dates back to José Eugenio Piantini (1791-1871), a gunsmith who came from Italy and married Flora Blanchard, originally from Bánica, Hincha area, bordering the French colony of Saint Domingue or Haiti.
The area that is now the epicenter of the city of Santo Domingo was, in the mid-1930s, an area of pastures and weeds, predominantly used for livestock, and has now become a major Financial Center.
Some of the Piantini descendants settled in San Carlos, living for many years on La Trinitaria Street, while others migrated to the Mata de Palma area of El Seibo. These are the Piantinis of the eastern part of the country.
One of his descendants, Guillermo Piantini del Castillo (August 3, 1915-March 29, 2002) was an engineer-architect and violinist of the National Symphony Orchestra, and he was responsible for the final design and opening of streets, the subdivision into rectangular blocks of 100 x 200 meters of the Piantini Expansion.
