5 photos from the developer
Under construction
Uptown
Marbella, Panama City
from $217k to $660k
- Unit types
- 4
- Smallest unit
- 35 m²
- Bedrooms
- 1–3
- Status
- Under construction
- Area
- Marbella
Renting an apartment in Panama City for fewer than 45 days is illegal unless the building holds tourist accommodation authorisation. Article 21 of Law 80 of 2012 sets that floor for the district of Panamá, the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP) enforces it, and fines run from $5,000 to $50,000. That one rule is why Uptown exists in the form it does. It is marketed as commercial condo-suites rather than residential apartments, delivered furnished by Roche Bobois, on the promise that owners can list on Airbnb or Expedia for stays under 45 days without breaking the law. If that permit is real and in hand, it is a genuine moat: a Panamanian law firm writing on tourism investment in 2026 puts the number of buildings in Panama City holding formal short-term rental permits at six. Now the problem. The English-language listings state the licence as settled fact. The Spanish-language listings we read use the future tense, saying the project "contará con permisos comerciales", meaning it will have commercial permits rather than that it holds them. We could not locate any public ATP or Registro Nacional de Turismo record tied to this project. That gap is the first thing to resolve before you put money down, because the entire investment case rests on it and nothing else about the tower is unusual.
Uptown prices and floor plans
| Unit | Beds | Baths | Size | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio Suite — fully furnished | 1 | 1 | 35 m² | $217k |
| 1 Bedroom — convertible to 2 (+$8,000) | 1 | 1 | 69 m² | $336k |
| Apt 9G — corner unit facing the Spiral Building | 2 | 2 | 86 m² | $412k |
| Lock-Off Suite — splits into 85 m² + 46 m² | 3 | 3 | 131 m² | $660k |
Where Uptown actually is
Uptown sits on Calle República de Uruguay, toward the Avenida Balboa end, a short walk from the Cinta Costera. Listings file it under two different neighbourhoods. Some agents label it Marbella, others Bella Vista, which is the official corregimiento. Both point at the same block, so do not read a Bella Vista listing and a Marbella listing as two separate projects. Our Marbella page covers the wider corridor's costs and access.
The specific thing about this address is the street itself. Calle Uruguay is Panama City's main bar and club strip, and the sales listings say so openly rather than hiding it. One describes the project as "rodeado de restaurantes, bares, hoteles", surrounded by restaurants, bars and hotels. The strip is quiet on weekday afternoons and fills after 10pm, heaviest on Friday and Saturday nights. The tower's own lower levels are planned as retail and restaurant space, so the activity is part of the product rather than an accident of siting. Buyers describing the location in Spanish listings also point to Avenida Balboa, the financial district and Casco Antiguo as being close by, which is accurate.
What’s included at Uptown
- Theatre
- Gym
- Commercial spa
- Pool
- Chef's kitchen
- Events room
Who Uptown suits — and who it doesn’t
Investors whose plan is short-stay rental income, and who are prepared to make the commercial permit a written condition of purchase rather than an assumption. Buyers who want a furnished, turnkey unit and accept paying for the Roche Bobois fit-out inside the purchase price. Anyone who actively wants to be on a nightlife strip, which for a short-let operator is a real advantage rather than a compromise. Buyers with the patience for a completion date that public sources place anywhere between 2027 and 2029, and the cash flow to absorb the slower end of that. And buyers willing to do genuine diligence on the developer's open legal file rather than take the brand at face value.
The commercial rental permit is asserted but still not evidenced. The developer's current sales material describes a hotel-commercial licence covering Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia, with the units managed by "be.", Empresas Bern's own rental arm. That is firmer than what was on the page before, where English listings claimed the licence and Spanish listings used the future tense. What has not changed is that we found no public ATP or Registro Nacional de Turismo record tied to this project. A developer asserting a licence in a sales document is not the same as a licence existing, and the entire investment case rests on this one point. Ask to see the authorisation itself, with its number, and make the deposit refundable if it is not produced.
Delivery slipped by more than a year, and the developer moved it rather than the listings disagreeing. The schedule was Q1 2028 as of March 2026 and is early to mid 2029 from April 2026 onward. Broker pages still advertising a 2027 handover, including one naming 30 January 2027, are quoting a date the developer abandoned. On a short-let investment that is not a scheduling detail: it is two extra years of carrying a committed deposit before the first night is booked.
You would be living on a bar strip. Calle Uruguay fills after 10pm and is busiest Friday and Saturday, and the building's lower levels are planned as restaurants and retail. For a short-let operator that is an asset. For an owner-occupier it is a reason to buy elsewhere in Marbella, where quieter blocks are available at similar money.
The developer is carrying an arbitration award against it. Empresas Bern lost a Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá arbitration on 24 May 2024 over Town Center Costa del Este, on findings that included construction deficiencies and deficient project administration. Bern is seeking annulment, and as of July 2026 it said the judicial process was continuing with no final decision. On a project whose whole value rests on being delivered and then operated as a short-let building, a construction-quality finding against the builder is directly relevant rather than background noise.
Small units carry a heavy price-per-square-metre penalty. The 35 m² studio at $217,000 works out at $6,200 per m². The 131 m² lock-off at $660,000 works out at $5,038 per m², and the 86 m² corner unit at $412,000 comes to $4,791. You pay roughly 30 percent more per square metre for the smallest floor plan, and the resale pool for a 35 m² unit is narrower than for a two-bedroom.
Prices are moving fast and unevenly, so any listing you find is probably wrong. Between March and July 2026 the studio rose 12.7 percent, the lock-off 7.4 percent and the one-bedroom only 3.8 percent. Agent pages have not kept up: the same 71 m² model has been asked at $269,800 on two broker sites and at $340,000 to $340,787 on three portal listings. Work from a dated developer price sheet, not an agent's number.
Carrying costs arrive in two parts. HOA is $4 per m² per month, roughly $140 on the 35 m² studio and $524 on the 131 m² lock-off. The rental management programme is billed separately, quoted at $250 a month on one listing.
Before you buy at Uptown
We have not verified title status for Uptown, and no source we read gives a finca number, the parcel identifier the Registro Público uses. Title status stays recorded as unknown on this page. Titled land is the norm across this part of the city and our Marbella page says so, but a neighbourhood pattern is not a fact about this lot. Ask for the finca number and confirm it at the Registro Público before any deposit.
Uptown's developer is Empresas Bern, a Panamanian group building since 1978. Four separate threads support that. Bern's own website lists "Calle Uruguay / Avenida Balboa" among the locations where it builds. Its site previously carried a portfolio page for Uptown at Calle Uruguay, which no longer resolves to a project page. Two RE/MAX franchise listings name Bern as the developer. And the rental management programme sold alongside the units carries Bern's "be" branding. What we could not do is read a live Uptown page on the developer's own site, so treat any specification you see attributed to Bern as unconfirmed until you are shown it directly.
That attribution matters because of what else sits on the group's file. On 24 May 2024 a tribunal of the Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá ruled against Empresas Bern over Town Center Costa del Este. La Prensa reported the award at $77.7 million in damages and costs, and reported that the tribunal rejected a $61.1 million counterclaim by Bern and awarded Town Center the site of a hotel it found had been built without shareholder authorisation. La Estrella de Panamá put the total at $82.6 million, itemising $41,263,818.59 for construction deficiencies and $19,753,312.59 for deficient project administration. Bern calls the award void for procedural defects and filed an annulment action with Panama's Supreme Court in July 2024. As of July 2026 Bern said the judicial process was continuing with no final decision, and it says the entities involved are separate from its current operations. Confirm which Empresas Bern entity signs your contract, and whether that entity is among those named in the arbitration.
The reservation deposit is quoted at $5,000 on one portal listing, with the balance on a payment plan during construction. Get the full schedule in writing.
Five things an attorney should pull before you commit. The construction permit and the plano for the lot. The finca number and any liens at the Registro Público. The written commercial-use zoning plus either the ATP tourist accommodation authorisation itself or a written statement of when it will be granted and what happens to your deposit if it is not. The identity of the selling entity, checked against the arbitration record. And the promesa de compraventa, the purchase-promise contract, specifically its forfeiture terms if delivery slips past 2029. On the permit point, the legal vehicle Panamanian property lawyers describe for tourist-use buildings is propiedad horizontal turística, a tourist horizontal-property regime under Article 36 of Law 31. Ask by name whether Uptown is being registered under it.
We hold no per-unit HOA schedule, no confirmed storey count and no total unit count for this project. Treat any single figure you are quoted for those as the seller's, until you see the plans.
FAQ
Can I legally rent an Uptown unit on Airbnb?
That is the question the whole project turns on, and it is still not evidenced. Article 21 of Law 80 of 2012 prohibits rentals under 45 days in the district of Panamá for anyone without public tourist accommodation authorisation from the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP), with fines of $5,000 to $50,000.
The developer's current sales material states that Uptown holds a hotel-commercial licence covering Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia, with units managed by "be.", Empresas Bern's rental arm. That is a firmer claim than the older listings, where English pages asserted the licence and Spanish pages said the project "contará con permisos comerciales", meaning it will have them. But we found no public ATP or Registro Nacional de Turismo record for this project, and a sales document is not a permit. Ask for the authorisation number, verify it with the ATP yourself, and make your deposit refundable if it cannot be produced.
What does a unit at Uptown cost?
As of 13 July 2026 the developer's prices are $217,000 for the 35 m² studio suite, from $336,000 for the 69 to 103 m² one-bedroom, $412,000 for unit 9G (an 86 m² corner facing the Spiral Building) and from $660,000 for the 131 m² lock-off suite that splits into an 85 m² and a 46 m² unit. Converting a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is an $8,000 option.
All units are delivered fully furnished by Roche Bobois, so the fit-out is inside the price rather than a cost on top.
Why do broker listings show much lower prices than these?
Because they are out of date, and prices have moved quickly. Between March and July 2026 the studio rose 12.7 percent, the lock-off 7.4 percent and the one-bedroom 3.8 percent. An earlier version of this page carried a range of $192,500 to $513,000 built from agent listings; the developer's own current range is $217,000 to $660,000.
The disagreement between agents was never resolved either. The same 71 m² floor plan has been asked at $269,800 on two broker sites and at $340,000 to $340,787 on three portal listings. Two other broker pages described the building as reaching $600,000 and $650,000 without naming a unit, and that turns out to have been roughly right: it is the 131 m² lock-off, now $660,000. Ask the developer for a dated price sheet and check the date on it.
When will Uptown be delivered?
Early to mid 2029, on the developer's current schedule. This is a genuine slip rather than sources disagreeing. The developer was quoting Q1 2028 as recently as March 2026 and moved to early or mid 2029 from April 2026 onward.
Broker and portal pages still showing 2027, including one specifying 30 January 2027, are quoting an abandoned date. Two RE/MAX listings recording 2029 happen to be right. Get the current schedule written into your contract, along with what happens if it slips again.
What is the payment plan at Uptown?
For most units: $5,000 refundable to reserve, the balance up to 15 percent at contract signing, then 10 percent at eight months and 5 percent at sixteen months, with the remaining 70 percent due on delivery. That commits 30 percent before handover.
Studios work differently. The 35 m² units are $5,000 to reserve, 50 percent at signing and 50 percent on delivery, which front-loads far more cash. Bank financing is available at what the developer describes as special rates. Given delivery is now 2029, work out what 30 to 50 percent of the price costs you to carry for three years before the unit earns anything.
Why is the smallest unit the most expensive per square metre?
Because it is priced as a rental product rather than as living space. The 35 m² studio at $217,000 is $6,200 per m². The 131 m² lock-off at $660,000 is $5,038 per m², and the 86 m² corner unit at $412,000 is $4,791. That is roughly a 30 percent premium per square metre for the smallest floor plan.
The logic is that nightly rates do not scale with floor area, so a studio earns proportionally more per square metre than a two-bedroom. Whether that holds depends on occupancy, and on the licence question above. If it does not, the larger units are better value per dollar and have a wider resale pool. The lock-off is the interesting middle case: it can be let as one unit or two, which is the only floor plan here that lets you change your mind after delivery.
How big is the building?
39 storeys, of which 32 are residential, with 10 units per floor. The lower levels are planned as retail and restaurant space. We have not seen a total unit count published by the developer, and 32 levels at 10 units each would suggest roughly 320 apartments, but that is arithmetic rather than a figure anyone has confirmed.
Who is the developer, and does the developer have legal problems I should know about?
Empresas Bern, a Panamanian group building since 1978. The attribution is well supported: Bern's own website lists "Calle Uruguay / Avenida Balboa" among the locations where it builds, its site previously carried an Uptown Calle Uruguay portfolio page that no longer resolves, two RE/MAX franchise listings name Bern as the developer, and the "be." rental management programme sold with the units is Bern's brand.
Bern also lost an arbitration on 24 May 2024 before a Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá tribunal over Town Center Costa del Este. La Prensa reported the award at $77.7 million in damages and costs, with a $61.1 million counterclaim by Bern rejected and the site of a hotel the tribunal found was built without shareholder authorisation awarded to Town Center. La Estrella de Panamá put the total at $82.6 million, including $41.3 million for construction deficiencies and $19.8 million for deficient project administration. Bern calls the award void for procedural defects and filed an annulment action with Panama's Supreme Court in July 2024. As of July 2026 Bern said the judicial process was continuing with no final decision, and it says the entities involved are separate from its current operations. Ask which Bern entity signs your contract.
Is Calle Uruguay noisy?
Yes, and the listings do not pretend otherwise. Calle Uruguay is Panama City's main bar and club strip. One Spanish listing describes the project as "rodeado de restaurantes, bares, hoteles". The street is quiet in the daytime and fills after 10pm, busiest on Friday and Saturday. Uptown's own lower levels are planned as restaurants and retail.
The developer also places the project inside a $44 million government urban-revitalisation corridor for the area. That is worth asking about specifically, because a revitalisation programme can cut either way for a short-let owner depending on whether it brings footfall or restricts the nightlife the footfall comes for. If you are buying to let short-term, the current activity is the point. If you are buying to live in, this is the wrong block.
What are the HOA fees at Uptown?
$4 per m² per month on the developer's current material, which is roughly $140 on the 35 m² studio, $276 on a 69 m² one-bedroom and $524 on the 131 m² lock-off. Earlier portal listings quoted about $105 a month on the studio and $540 on a 135 m² unit, which is broadly consistent at the top and low at the bottom.
The rental management programme is billed separately, quoted at $250 a month on one listing. We have not seen a full published fee schedule, so confirm the figure for your specific unit in writing.
Is Uptown titled property?
We have not verified it. No source we read gives a finca number, the Registro Público's parcel identifier for the lot. Titled land is the norm in this part of Panama City, but that is a neighbourhood pattern rather than a fact about this building. The project is selling pre-completion, so ask for the finca number and have an attorney confirm it at the Registro Público before any deposit.
