Agro-Velho

The crescent-shape of Lagoa Cove.

Agro-Velho or Nova Póvoa is a beach resort district of the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim and located around Lagoa Cove (Enseada da Lagoa). It was mostly developed between the 1970s and late 1990s with high-rise buildings in the area of a dried-up saltwater lagoon.

Location

Agro-Velho district in the city of Póvoa de Varzim.

Touro intersection.

Lagoa Beach during low tide in mid-September.

Agro-Velho is bounder by Bairro Norte on the south, Parque da Cidade on the east, A Ver-o-Mar to the North, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is located in the site of a former lagoon. The name of the district's beach, "Lagoa" (Lagoon in English) is taken from it. The district is the northwards expansion of Póvoa's traditional beach district, the Bairro Norte.

Part of the district in the former lagoon basin is still not urbanized, due to city hall policies, and for a long period of time, it was the proposed site for the construction of the Póvoa de Varzim City Park, meanwhile real estate speculation lead to the complete urbanization of the waterfront, and the city hall changed the localization of the park eastwards.

Urban morphology

Rua Alfredo Graça.

In urban terms, Agro-Velho developed from South to the North as an expansion of the beach resort section, the Bairro Norte. Most of the highrise buildings of the city are concentrated in this area, especially around Vasco da Gama and Repatriamento dos Poveiros avenues. It has the tallest building of Póvoa de Varzim, the Edíficio Nova Póvoa (built between 1973–1980) with around 100 meters and 30 floors. the tower has over 1,000 residents during the summer, more inhabitants than several civil parishes in Portugal. It was for a long time the tallest building in Portugal. Other high-rises include Nr.70 with 19 floors and Cristal Mar with 18.

Important sports venues of the city, inaugurated in the beginning of the 20th century, are located in Alto de Martim Vaz area: the Varzim Sport Club stadium, Póvoa de Varzim Bullring, Varzim Lazer swimming and tennis complex and Clube Desportivo da Póvoa swimming and pavilion complex.

In the waterfront, the district is bounded by Rua do Varzim Sport Club street, the street is now mostly pedestrian, and rua Gomes de Amorim (Estrada Nacional 13) on the east, Avenida Repatriamento dos Poveiros and its expansion (Rua 27 de Fevereiro) cross the district.

Avenida Vasco da Game, the south boundary with Bairro Norte, is one of the main central business avenues of the city. The wide Praça Almeida Garrett is the main district's square, but unofficial Touro Square is the most charismatic and famous of the district's squares.