Marina Development Corporation: A key player in Ventimiglia’s rebirth
The complex overlooks the port and the Mediterranean Sea © MDC
Since its creation, the company has planned a substantial number of projects throughout Ventimiglia in the hope of attracting a wealthy international clientele.
Ventimiglia is undergoing a major transformation since the construction of Monaco’s new port, Cala Del Forte.The Marina Development Corporation (MDC), headed up by Dutch businessman and Monegasque resident Rob Thielen, has a lot to do with it.
Advertising
An international investor and philanthropist, Thielen is also the founder of Waterland Private Equity Investments, a venture capital firm that is partly responsible for his wealth. Since seeing the port of Ventimiglia in 2018 from his boat, Thielen has put the “floral gateway to Italy” at the heart of his strategy to turn run-down coastal locations into luxury destinations.
Marina di Ventimiglia: the company’s showcase
MDC’s flagship project in Ventimiglia, Borgo del Forte, includes a five-star hotel, 70 luxury apartments, the La Rocca restaurant with views over the port and the Mediterranean Sea, a sports centre and an 18,000 m² public park. Rob Thielen’s vision is clear: to attract an international clientele and restore a strong tourism dynamic to Ventimiglia, with the help of Monaco’s Cala del Forte port.
To revitalise the historic centre of Ventimiglia, the plan is to connect it directly to Borgo del Forte by means of a lift system leading to via Verdi, where an elevator will serve the upper town. A 1,000 m² car park and a panoramic promenade are also planned to improve connections between the marina and the town, where a new restaurant, Venti, and an ice cream parlour, Antica Gelateria d’Autore, have already opened.
At the other end of the town, to the east, MDC plans to build a 30,000 m² International Campus on the former Campasso railway depot. In addition to an international school, it is due to house an Olympic swimming pool, a fitness centre, squash and tennis courts and large green spaces to enjoy the surroundings.
Just a few kilometres from the Principality, the town lends itself particularly well to Thielen’s and MDC’s ambition to create a ‘magnet’ for an international clientele and perhaps attract a few curious visitors from Monaco.
MDC has also extended its activities to Marina di Pisa, where it is developing a similar project at the mouth of the River Arno, the Villa Rondini. If the project goes ahead, it should include luxury facilities and 38 flats.
Ambitious projects with local challenges
Despite these ambitions and over €200 million invested in the project, the Borgo del Forte project has come up against a number of stumbling blocks. Some of Ventimiglia’s town council members and residents have expressed doubts about the public interest of these changes. These concern the Campus in particular, whose goals are still unclear.
To be able to move forward with the projects, the MDC team underwent a major reshuffle in June, and a meeting was held in July between the new mayor of Ventimiglia, Flavio Di Muro, and the new team to find joint solutions and make the project more beneficial to the residents of the Italian town.
After the meeting, the MDC CEO Anselmo De Titta offered reassurance about the project’s progress: “The project is so rich in terms of ideas and quality that I’m sure we’ll reach our goals very quickly. We are optimistic and look forward to the next phase of dialogue with confidence.”