'Amunt Persianes' wants to fill Barcelona's empty premises with neighborhood businesses

The College of Property Administrators of Barcelona-Lleida (CAFBL) joins forces with Barcelona Activa in the municipal campaign Amunt Persianes, which aims to reopen empty premises in the city with neighborhood businesses. It is estimated that, today, in Barcelona there are around 5,300 unoccupied ground-floor premises. Or what is the same, 1.5 million m² that could be activated.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many establishments were forced to close. To reactivate the city's economic activity, the City Council devised the Amunt Persianes project, which last June allocated sixteen million euros to the purchase of ground-floor premises, on which the campaign focuses.

The idea is to grow the economy by diversifying the commercial offer of Barcelona's neighborhoods. That is, by opening new establishments dedicated to activities of all kinds, from training centers to laboratories or creative workshops. "Everything will depend on the commercial needs of the residents," explains the manager of CAFBL, Llorenç Viñas.

According to Viñas, the objective is "to recover traditional commerce, moving away from large surfaces." For this reason, the council wants the premises to be owned by people from the neighborhood, so it will offer leases at lower prices than usual and will provide local entrepreneurs with aid to set up the business. In addition, Barcelona Activa has committed to providing advice and training to all emerging businesses that need it.

The College of Administrators will give a new impetus to the municipal project, contributing to the acquisition of more ground-floor premises in the city. The administrators will appraise the price of each premise, as well as the approximate value of its rehabilitation (if necessary) and will advise on what type of business is most suitable for each premise or area. In addition, they have also committed to posting all information related to available establishments in a section of the Barcelona Rental Exchange website, which will be created ad hoc for the occasion.

Amunt Persianes is going on vacation, but from the second half of September it will focus on buying more premises and looking for entrepreneurs willing to set up a business. This initiative is a process that is estimated to last two years.