Montevideo, Uruguay
Uruguay's property register is public by law but sold one request at a time: a Dirección General de Registros certificate costs 1.5 UR (unidades reajustables) for up to three properties, while the national cadastre (DNC) gives away every Montevideo padrón's area and value — but not its owner.
10 buildings · 7 with an owner established · 23 sources · 8 tier A · 2 tier B · prepared 2026-10-21
Ownership in Uruguay is recorded in the Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Inmobiliaria, run by the Dirección General de Registros (DGR) under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Ley 16.871 (1997) art. 72 says the registers 'serán públicos' and that anyone with an interest in a property's registry status may ask for it; art. 74 lets DGR certify the entries on a property and, since 2005, search by a person's name ('búsqueda patronímica'). Each information request pays the Impuesto Servicios Registrales of 1.5 UR and may cover at most three properties and ten persons (Ley 16.736 art. 368). Registration filings are lodged by notaries (escribanos) through DGR's systems; DGR offers no free online owner lookup and no bulk owner file. The national cadastre (Dirección Nacional de Catastro) publishes every padrón's area and cadastral value as open data, with no owner field.
- FIX SCR Uruguay rating reports (served from www.bvm.com.uy) — “La reproducción o distribución total o parcial de este informe por terceros está prohibida, salvo con permiso. Todos sus derechos reservados.”
The marquee buildings
The towers that set the tone of the core, and who holds them. A price is the price a document states, on the date it states — not an estimate of what the building is worth now.
| Building | Use | Owner | Owner type | Last price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palacio Legislativo (Legislative Palace) Avenida de las Leyes s/n, Aguada, Montevideo |
Civic | Poder Legislativo de la República Oriental del Uruguay Seat of the General Assembly. Spanish Wikipedia's infobox gives 'Propietario: Poder Legislativo de la República Oriental del Uruguay', 'Ocupante: Asamblea General'. Built 1908–1925 (inaugurated 25 Aug 1925); the article says the 1908 works budget of 2,500,000 pesos oro was raised by laws of 1915, 1918 and 1923 to 10,000,000 pesos oro. National Historic Monument. The owner is the State's legislative branch; no register extract was bought. |
Government | —A |
| Torre Ejecutiva (Executive Tower) Plaza Independencia, Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo 22,590 m² · 25 floors |
Civic | Estado uruguayo (Presidencia de la República) Seat of the Presidency since 11 Nov 2009. Wikipedia's infobox: 'Propietario: Estado uruguayo; Ocupante: Presidencia de la República'; 57 m, 25 floors, 22,590 m². The building began as a Palace of Justice; in 2005 the Executive 'resolvió adquirir el inmueble al Poder Judicial' — a transfer between branches of the State. No price is stated. A 2017 annex houses the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. |
Government | —A |
| Torre de las Telecomunicaciones (Torre Antel; Edificio Joaquín Torres García) La Aguada, Montevideo 20,000 m² (infobox); tower 19,459 m² · 32 floors |
Office | Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Antel) A 158 m tower and completed in 2002. Wikipedia's infobox gives 'Propietario: Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones' — Antel, the state telecoms enterprise, whose headquarters it is. The infobox gives 32 floors and 20,000 m²; the body text says the tower alone has 19,459 m² over 45 levels (counting service levels). No acquisition: Antel built it. |
Government | —A |
| Port of Montevideo (Puerto de Montevideo) and Terminal Cuenca del Plata Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo (TCP domiciled at Buenos Aires 275) ~145 ha of land (ANP) |
Industrial | Administración Nacional de Puertos (ANP) ANP's port page: land area 'aproximadamente 145 hectáreas' (Wikipedia says 110 ha). The container terminal is run by Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A.; its 2025 audited statements (s12, Note 1) name shareholders Nelsury S.A. (80%) and ANP (20%); Nelsury's controller is Seaport Terminals Montevideo S.A., owned by Seaport Terminal NV, ultimate controller Katoen Natie Group S.A. Its contract with ANP runs 30 years from 12 Jun 2001, modified 3 Mar 2023, renewable automatically for 50 years. Wikipedia (s13): won at public auction in 2001 with a US$17,000,000 bid. A concession over State land, not a sale. |
Government | —B |
| Estadio Centenario Parque Batlle, Montevideo 60,235 seats |
Civic | Intendencia de Montevideo Built Jan–Jul 1930 for the first World Cup; FIFA 'Monumento Histórico del Fútbol Mundial' (1983). Wikipedia's infobox: 'Propietario: Intendencia de Montevideo; Operador: Comisión Administradora del Field Oficial (CAFO)', and the text says CAFO is made up of three members of the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol and two of the Intendencia. The city owns it; football's governing body shares its management. |
Government | —A |
| Hotel Casino Carrasco (Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco & Spa) Rambla, Carrasco, Montevideo 10,000 m², 116 rooms · 4 floors |
Hotel | Intendencia de Montevideo Wikipedia's infobox: 'Propietario: Gobierno de Montevideo; Ocupante: Sofitel'. Begun 1912, the city government 'adquirió los terrenos y retomó las obras' and opened it on 29 Jan 1921; it stayed under municipal management until 2009. It then closed for a refurbishment 'ejecutado por la empresa Carrasco Nobile Sociedad Anónima', reopening 7 Mar 2013 with Sofitel running the hotel and Codere the casino. The terms of Carrasco Nobile's concession (length, fee) were not found in a source that opened. |
Government | —A |
| WTC Free Zone, Towers 1 and 2 (World Trade Center Montevideo complex) WTC Montevideo complex, Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera and Av. 26 de Marzo, Buceo, Montevideo Tower 1: 32,500 m², 23 floors; Tower 2: 20 floors (Wikipedia) · 23 floors |
Office | World Trade Center Free Zone S.A. 12.05% held by Fideicomiso Financiero Rentas Inmobiliarias Orientales I (FF RIO I) A free-trade-zone office complex inside the WTC Montevideo campus (165,000 m² in all, developed by Estudio Lecueder per Wikipedia). FIX SCR's April 2022 rating of FF RIO I — a Uruguayan listed property trust administered by Grelana S.A. that placed USD 80 million of participation certificates in Aug 2021 — says its anchor asset is a minority stake in World Trade Center Free Zone S.A., which owns Lusico S.A. (100%), Paswer S.A. (50%) and Lunamen S.A. (50%). Tower 2 was then newly opened; occupancy above 85% across 155+ tenants. Holders of the other 87.95% are not stated. |
Private company | US$16.8 million (carrying value of the 12.05% stake) 2021-09 FF RIO I bought 12.05% of WTC FZ from Altern Investments LP in two tranches, the first (11.73%) on 28 Sep 2021; the rating report shows the stake at USD 16.8 MM. B |
| Montevideo Shopping Buceo, Montevideo (beside the WTC complex) |
Retail | Not established a paid title search would answer it Uruguay's first shopping centre (Spanish Wikipedia), beside the WTC. English Wikipedia says only that 'the mall is managed by' the Lecueder development studio, which also runs Portones, Tres Cruces and Nuevocentro — management, not ownership. No filing, register extract or sale announcement naming the owning company was found; the DGR register would answer it for 1.5 UR, but only to a request naming the padrón. |
Not established | —A |
| Nuevocentro Shopping Bulevar Artigas and Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera, Montevideo |
Retail | Not established a paid title search would answer it Opened 2013 after works begun in March 2011. English Wikipedia: built with 'an investment of 60 million dollars' 'on the land provided by the Cutcsa transport company, which also has an economic stake in the shopping center' — Cutcsa's bus workshops stood there until 2011. Cutcsa's share, and who holds the rest, is not stated, so the owner is left blank rather than guessed. |
Not established | —A |
| Hospital de Clínicas Dr. Manuel Quintela Parque Batlle, Montevideo 110,000 m² built · 23 floors |
Institutional | Not established a paid title search would answer it Uruguay's public university hospital, designed in 1929; 110,000 m² over 23 floors. Wikipedia says it is 'gestionado por la Universidad de la República' — managed by the University — and files it under the University's category, but no source opened says who holds title, so the owner is left blank rather than inferred from management. |
Not established | —A |
The core land
The most valuable ground in the city, and what the public record says about it.
Montevideo is a department and a city at once, and the national cadastre (Dirección Nacional de Catastro) values every padrón in it. Its monthly open file, summed by us for department code V (Montevideo) from the October 2026 release, gives the totals below. It carries areas and values, never owners; the register (DGR) holds those. Values are cadastral (valor catastral, Uruguayan pesos), which sit well below market prices.
Who owns the town
At this scale the significant owner is rarely a trust or a fund: it is one or two local holding companies, a family in its second or third generation, and often the land around the town rather than the buildings in it.
Montevideo's largest landholders are public: the national State (Legislative Palace, the Executive's tower), its enterprises (Antel; the port authority ANP with about 145 ha), and the Intendencia, which owns the national stadium and the Hotel Carrasco and runs a municipal land bank for housing (Cartera de Tierras, created 1990). No register-based ranking exists: the DGR answers one request at a time, and the cadastre's open file has no owner field. The private side is fragmented into single-purpose companies.
| Name | Type | Holdings |
|---|---|---|
| Administración Nacional de Puertos (ANP) ANP port page (s11) and TCP's 2025 statements (s12). |
Government | Port of Montevideo, ~145 ha of land; 20% of Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A.A |
| Intendencia de Montevideo Both named as municipal property in Wikipedia's infoboxes (s14, s15); the stadium is run by CAFO, the hotel by Sofitel after a refurbishment by Carrasco Nobile S.A. |
Government | Estadio Centenario (60,235 seats); Hotel Casino Carrasco (10,000 m²)B |
| Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Antel) Owner per Wikipedia's infobox (s10). |
Government | Torre de las Telecomunicaciones, 158 m, ~20,000 m²A |
| Poder Legislativo Owner per Wikipedia's infobox (s8). |
Government | Palacio LegislativoA |
| Estado uruguayo — Presidencia de la República Acquired from the Poder Judicial in 2005 (s9). |
Government | Torre Ejecutiva, 22,590 m², and its 2017 annexA |
Who builds the houses
New-home building in this market: the volume, and the firms behind it. Ownership of a builder matters as much as its volume — a private-equity platform and a family firm behave differently.
New housing in Montevideo is driven by the vivienda promovida regime (Ley 18.795), which gives tax exemptions to private projects; the Intendencia publishes every promoted project with the promoting company and its unit count. From 20 Dec 2011 to 26 Jun 2026 it lists 1,253 sub-projects with 38,850 units, 4,485 of them promoted in the first half of 2026 alone. The striking fact is fragmentation: 1,051 distinct promoters, nearly all single-purpose sociedades anónimas or trusts created for one building, so no builder appears with even 2% of the total. The developer brands behind the shells are not named in the data and are not inferred here. Figures below are units promoted, not completed; a few promoters listed under a private person's name are excluded.
| Name | Type | Units promoted 2011–2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Sol Nobile S.A. Aguada and Mercado Modelo y Bolívar. Sum of TOTAL_VP for this company in the Intendencia's Obras Ley VIS file. |
Private company | 672 units, 2 projects (2013, 2026)A |
| Altos Pedregales S.A. Unión. A single 2026 project — the largest single promotion in the file. |
Private company | 576 units, 1 project (2026)A |
| Primos S.A.S. Capurro y Bella Vista. |
Private company | 562 units, 1 project (2021)A |
| Lulef S.A. Flor de Maroñas. |
Private company | 544 units, 1 project (2020)A |
| Teycru S.A. The most frequent repeat promoter among the large ones: Barrio Sur, Brazo Oriental, Capurro, Cordón, Palermo, Tres Cruces. |
Private company | 496 units, 11 projects (2014–2025)A |
| Foquier Corporation S.A. Cordón, Larrañaga, Palermo, Tres Cruces. |
Private company | 435 units, 7 projects (2013–2024)A |
Commercial landlords
The commercial side, counted separately from housing: who holds the office, retail and industrial floor area.
Montevideo has no REIT market of scale. Commercial property is held by closely held sociedades anónimas, a handful of listed trusts (fideicomisos financieros) on the Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo, and — for the largest sites — the State and the Intendencia, which concede hotels, terminals and stadiums to operators. No source gives floor area by landlord; the figures are what each source states.
| Name | Type | Holding as stated |
|---|---|---|
| World Trade Center Free Zone S.A. Owns the free-zone towers in the WTC complex and Lusico S.A. (100%), Paswer S.A. (50%) and Lunamen S.A. (50%), per the FF RIO I rating report; floor area from Wikipedia (s17). |
Private company | WTC Free Zone Tower 1 (32,500 m², 23 floors) and Tower 2 (20 floors); 155+ tenants, >85% occupied (Apr 2022)B |
| Fideicomiso Financiero Rentas Inmobiliarias Orientales I (FF RIO I) Listed property trust aimed at corporate rents in Uruguay, administered by Grelana S.A.; 93.6% of the certificates went to institutional investors. A Dec 2021 reservation to buy a let office asset in Carrasco from Uptown Holding LLC did not complete; the deposit was returned. |
Public company | US$80 million of participation certificates placed Aug 2021; 12.05% of WTC Free Zone S.A. (USD 16.8 MM)A |
| Estudio Lecueder (Lecueder development group) FIX SCR calls it 'uno de los principales desarrolladores del país' with a priority development agreement with FF RIO I. Wikipedia says it manages Montevideo Shopping, Portones, Tres Cruces and Nuevocentro. Management and development, not established ownership. |
Developer | Developer of seven shopping centres in Uruguay, WTC Montevideo (165,000 m²) and WTC Free ZoneB |
| Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A. (Katoen Natie Group, 80% via Nelsury S.A.; ANP 20%) Audited 2025 statements published by ANP. The terminal land is ANP's; TCP holds the concession and its works. |
Private company | Container-terminal concession in the Port of Montevideo, 30 years from 2001, renewable 50 years; equity UYU 18.69 billion at 31 Dec 2025A |
| Cutcsa (bus transport company) English Wikipedia: the mall was built on Cutcsa's former workshop land and Cutcsa 'also has an economic stake'. |
Private company | Land under Nuevocentro Shopping plus an unstated stake in the mallA |
Looked for and not found
Claims this page would have made if a source could be opened. They are left out rather than guessed.
- Owners of Montevideo Shopping, Punta Carretas Shopping, Tres Cruces Shopping and the WTC Montevideo office towers — search results (El Observador, 2019) tie them to named business groups, but no filing, register extract or sale announcement was opened; management by the Lecueder studio is all that is sourced.
- Title to the Hospital de Clínicas — Wikipedia says the Universidad de la República manages it; no source stating ownership opened.
- Holders of the 87.95% of World Trade Center Free Zone S.A. not owned by FF RIO I.
- Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza and Palacio Salvo — Wikipedia names no owner for either; no source opened identifies their owners or any unit-holding entities.
- The terms of the Carrasco Nobile S.A. concession for the Hotel Carrasco (length, canon) and of the Intendencia's Cartera de Tierras holdings (no hectare or lot total found).
- The peso value of 1 UR (unidad reajustable) for 2026 and the MEC's four-monthly peso equivalent of the registry tax — the BPS/INE/MEC pages that publish them sit on www.gub.uy, which refused connections.
- Carrasco International Airport is excluded: Wikipedia places it at Ruta 101 km 19.95 in Colonia Nicolich, Canelones — outside Montevideo. Its owner is the Dirección Nacional de Aviación Civil e Infraestructura Aeronáutica, operated by Corporación América Airports (Puerta del Sur S.A.).
Sources
- Ley Nº 16.871 — Registros Públicos (arts. 1, 6, 17, 72–78) — IMPO — Centro de Información Oficial · openA
- Ley Nº 16.736, art. 368 — Impuesto Servicios Registrales (1.5 UR per information request; max 3 properties, 10 persons) — IMPO — Centro de Información Oficial · openA
- Reserva de Prioridad Inmuebles — Preguntas frecuentes — Dirección General de Registros (DGR) · openA
- Padrones urbanos y rurales — Dirección Nacional de Catastro (monthly open data; resource 10/2026) — Dirección Nacional de Catastro via Catálogo Nacional de Datos Abiertos (AGESIC) · openA
- Metadatos Dirección Nacional de Catastro (field definitions: no owner field) — Dirección Nacional de Catastro · openA
- Indicadores de Actividad Inmobiliaria (IAI) — Mercado de Compraventa, noviembre–diciembre 2022 — Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), from DGR records · openA
- Términos y condiciones del Catálogo Nacional de Datos Abiertos (point 7: Licencia de Datos Abiertos de Uruguay applies by default) — AGESIC · openA
- Palacio Legislativo (Uruguay) — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Torre Ejecutiva — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Torre de las Telecomunicaciones — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Puerto de Montevideo — características (superficie terrestre ~145 ha) — Administración Nacional de Puertos (ANP) · openA
- Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A. — Estados financieros al 31 de diciembre de 2025 (Nota 1, Información general), audited by Ernst & Young UY — Administración Nacional de Puertos (ANP), Estados Financieros TCP · openA
- Terminal Cuenca del Plata — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Estadio Centenario — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Hotel Casino Carrasco — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Fideicomiso Financiero Rentas Inmobiliarias Orientales I — Informe de Calificación, 29 Apr 2022 (FIX SCR Uruguay) — Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo (BVM) document repository · openA
- World Trade Center Montevideo — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Montevideo Shopping — Wikipedia (en) · openA
- Nuevocentro Shopping — Wikipedia (en) · openA
- Hospital de Clínicas Dr. Manuel Quintela — Wikipedia (es) · openA
- Vivienda y hogares — Intendencia de Montevideo dataset (resource 'Obras Ley VIS': promoted-housing projects under Ley 18.795 with company, RUT and unit counts) — Intendencia de Montevideo (Análisis Territorial, with UdelaR) via Catálogo Nacional de Datos Abiertos · openA
- obras_ley_vis (CSV served with a .geojson name; 1,253 sub-projects promoted 20 Dec 2011 – 26 Jun 2026) — Intendencia de Montevideo open-data CKAN · openA
- Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco — Wikipedia (es) · openA