The expansion of La Maquinista is unstuck

One of the first actions of Mayor Ada Colau when she arrived at the Barcelona City Council in 2015 was the paralysis of the expansion of La Maquinista, which drew criticism from both commercial entities and neighborhood associations. She did so after the previous municipal government, led by Xavier Trias, reached an agreement with the shopping center's developers, Unibail Rodamco Westfield (URW), which contemplated gaining 42,000 square meters and erecting residential buildings of up to 25 floors, and after the municipal plenary approved the consequent modification of the metropolitan general plan. The discrepancies between Colau's executive and the developers of La Maquinista ended up in court.

Six years later, this conflict has been resolved, thanks to a mediation process that began in 2018 and has just culminated in an agreement between the city council and URW. The details of the agreement were presented this Friday and include substantial changes to the approach that had been originally approved. It contemplates the transformation of a total of 92,000 square meters, reducing the center's growth to 21,000 square meters and allocating the remaining surface area ---the 21,000 square meters that were previously for commercial growth--- to housing, green areas, facilities, local shops, and sustainable mobility. The large apartment towers that were intended to be built are also left behind, favoring integration with the surroundings.

"It is a good agreement for the city," said the Deputy Mayor for Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility of Barcelona, Janet Sanz, accompanied by URW's head in Spain, Marilyne Mesiano. Once the agreement is signed, the developers will have to suspend and withdraw the open lawsuits against the city council, and the drafting of the urban improvement plan and a new modification of the metropolitan general plan will be undertaken. All of this will begin to be processed within three months. The forecast is to have the complete processing by the end of the year.

URW, also owner of the Glòries shopping center and Splau in Cornellà, will invest a total of 250 million euros in this expansion, a figure slightly higher than that planned in 2015. Of this investment, two million euros will go to promote new means of transport, such as bicycles, electric cars or carsharing. The car park will have 860 spaces on two underground floors, 1,200 less than those planned six years ago. New bike lanes and bus lanes will also be enabled, in addition to improving access. Likewise, the developers will undertake the urbanization of the area around La Maquinista.

With the addition of 21,000 square meters, La Maquinista will reach 121,000 square meters, becoming the largest shopping center in Catalonia. Currently, 3,300 employees work there. The new center will add 1,000 jobs. For the works, it is estimated that 500 workers will be hired.

As for housing, there will be a total of 65,000 square meters allocated for this use, adding 15,000 square meters more than the original agreement. This will mean the construction of up to 812 new flats, of which 518 will be market-rate and 294 protected ---representing 36% of the total---. Buildings of 25 floors will no longer be built, as had been planned in 2015, and the maximum height will be 17 floors. "The city needs less Diagonal Mar and more Illa Diagonal," Sanz defended, advocating for the buildability to be better integrated into the city and neighborhoods.

Likewise, the City Council will incorporate public land into this urban operation, adjacent to the commercial area, to guarantee that the heights of the new buildings are reduced. The free space that will remain due to the reduction of the expansion will also serve to locate offices, co-working spaces and gyms, with 5,000 square meters, and local shops, with 1,000 square meters.