Construction To Resume In Valdebebas

30 January 2015 – Cinco Días

The Governing Board of Madrid’s City Council has finally approved the “Project for the Economic Redistribution of Plots in Valdebebas”, once all of the necessary administrative processes have been completed. “This is a particularly important milestone for Valdebebas, since it will allow not only for new building permits to be granted once more, but also for a return to normality for the first occupancy licences and building permits that have been already granted; the latter have been affected by litigation claims”, said the team responsible for the complex, located to the North of central Madrid.

Following the administrative decision, construction of almost 1,000 new homes (mostly non-subsidised dwellings) will begin in the next few months, adding to the stock of more than 4,000 homes that have already been built. “In terms of social housing, and once the existing supply of land has been used up, around 350 of the 1,000 new homes will be subsidised”. In addition to this new supply of housing, the urban restructuring will be completed with a shopping centre, comprising 56,000 constructible square metres, and a plot of land destined for private educational use, where the Joyfe Valdebebas College will be built. The parks in the area, which will occupy 1,000 hectares, are due to be opened between March and April.

The plans permit the construction of 12,500 homes, of which almost 4,200 have already been build and a further 800 are in the final phase of construction. Around 5,000 people currently live in Valdebebas, but it is estimated that the neighbourhood will have a residential population of between 30,000 and 40,000 people once the project has been completed. If we add the people that are expected to work in the nearby offices and shops, then estimates indicate that more than 100,000 people will pass through Valdebebas on a daily basis. The average price of non-subsidised housing in the new neighbourhood amounts to around €2,550 per square metre.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alberto Ortín Ramón)

Translation: Carmel Drake