The future Clínic hospital will become a lever for urban transformation spanning Barcelona, L'Hospitalet and Esplugues. The project for the future Campus de Salud Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona took a further step forward this Wednesday, with approval given to advance the Porta Diagonal-Campus Clínic Urban Master Plan (PDU). The initiative, coordinated by the General Council of the Porta Diagonal – Campus Clínic Consortium—the body bringing together the nine institutions involved in this strategic project—will affect 69.5 hectares across the three municipalities, combining new healthcare and research facilities with housing, economic activity, green spaces and new public areas.
The future Campus Clínic will occupy 12.7 hectares and concentrate around 380,000 m² of floor space for healthcare, teaching and research uses. On top of this, up to 120,000 m² will be set aside for complementary activities such as laboratories, housing for researchers and resident doctors, and campus-related services.
One of the key developments is the setting aside of land for up to 1,125 homes, 325 of them in Barcelona and 800 in L'Hospitalet. Half will be subsidized housing. The plan also provides for 22 hectares of green space, including the extension of Rambla de Finestrelles, a new park around Carretera de Collblanc, and the expansion of Parc de Can Rigal.
Across the district as a whole, 63% of floor space will be devoted to healthcare, teaching and research uses, while 23% will go to economic activity. Residential use will account for 10%, and local amenities for 4%. The proposal thus aims to combine the campus with housing, productive activity and new public spaces, in an area that has until now been defined by major road infrastructure.
Mobility will be another key element of the transformation. The reorganization of access points from the B-23 and the Ronda de Dalt aims to strengthen Diagonal as a metropolitan connecting axis, while the project also incorporates new pedestrian and cycling routes and provides for the arrival of Metro Line 3 in Esplugues.
The Clínic comes to L'Hospitalet
In L'Hospitalet, the arrival of the Clínic will also have a direct impact on the city's healthcare map. The neighborhoods of Samontà, which include Pubilla Cases, will have the new hospital as their reference center, while the rest of the city will remain linked to the Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge. As a result, all L'Hospitalet residents will have their reference hospital within the same municipality.
Quirós: "The Clínic must be a great national project, but above all it must deliver a clear, tangible return for L'Hospitalet and our neighborhoods"
L'Hospitalet mayor David Quirós stressed that the project must deliver a direct return for local neighborhoods: "The Clínic must be a great national project, but above all it must deliver a clear, tangible return for L'Hospitalet and our neighborhoods." That return will also come through housing. L'Hospitalet is set to get 800 apartments—fewer than originally planned—400 of which will be subsidized housing. The plan also sets aside close to 122,000 m² of floor space for economic activity, particularly linked to health, research, innovation and advanced services.
The urban transformation will include new public spaces and green areas around Carretera de Collblanc, the extension of Rambla de Finestrelles, and the expansion of Parc de Can Rigal. According to the L'Hospitalet City Council's projections, the arrival of the Clínic will also strengthen ties with the Bellvitge Health and Innovation BioCluster and reinforce L'Hospitalet's role as a hub for health and knowledge.
A new Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences in Esplugues
In Esplugues, the project includes one of its flagship university developments: the University of Barcelona's new Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science. The building will span 35,000 m², with a planned investment of €152 million, and is due to open for the 2032-2033 academic year. The new faculty will replace facilities that are more than 70 years old and will have capacity for around 3,000 students. Its location is intended to strengthen connections between the UB, the future Campus Clínic, the Barcelona Science Park and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.
The project also aims to overcome the barrier that currently divides different parts of Esplugues and to reinforce Diagonal as a metropolitan urban axis. The extension of Rambla de Finestrelles and the extension of Metro Line 3, with two new stations, will help connect this new university and healthcare district with the rest of the city.
A project with a 2035 horizon
The step approved this Wednesday is still just the beginning of a process that must continue with public participation, scheduled between September and December. Initial approval of the PDU is expected in the first half of 2027, with final approval in early 2028.
"The Clínic will soon launch the international architecture competition to design the future hospital"
At the same time, the Clínic will soon launch the international architecture competition to design the future hospital. Site development works would begin in the second half of 2028, with campus construction starting in 2030. The goal is to have it operational by 2035, with an estimated investment of €1.7 billion.
The project, then, goes well beyond relocating a hospital. The new Clínic is conceived as the centerpiece of a transformation that must stitch together Barcelona, L'Hospitalet and Esplugues through healthcare, research, housing, green space and a new network of metropolitan connections.