The Gimnàs Sant Pau had been demanding a solution for its social project in the Raval for a long time, which needed rehabilitation work to guarantee its operation and, furthermore, was threatened by the eviction proposed by the until now owners of the plot, who wanted to demolish the building and build apartments. Finally, the Barcelona City Council has found a solution, after reaching an agreement with the company Mediaurban, owned by the Mediapro group.
The council will acquire the plot where this facility is located for a value of 8 million euros from Mediaurban, which has acquired it from the former owners for 14 million. The company of audiovisual businessman Jaume Roures will have the right of surface for a period of 55 years and will have to build 36 homes dedicated to social rental and managed by the Fundació Hàbitat3. They will be entirely destined for people served by the Taula d'Entitats del Tercer Sector Social.
The ground floor and the basement of the new building will be transferred to the City Council when the works are finished so that the Gimnàs Sant Pau can maintain the social project it carries out. Once the 55 years of transfer of the right of surface have ended and the investment has been recovered, the ownership of the property, the apartments, and the gym will pass entirely into municipal hands.
The Gimnàs Sant Pau is a historic entity that was recovered in 2012 and became a non-profit cooperative, which uses sport for the integration of groups at risk of social exclusion. The pandemic forced the gym to close, but they decided to expand their contribution to the city by converting it into a hygiene and shower service for homeless people, offering an average of 150 showers, change of clothes, and meals uninterruptedly since March.
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