The sector of Finestrelles, in Esplugues de Llobregat, next to the border with Barcelona, ??begins its last phase, which corresponds to the business and services park, known as Porta Diagonal. This area stands out for its two large towers of almost one hundred meters in height. Works on the first, the closest to the Catalan capital and which will be a hotel, are about to begin, and those on the second, which will be used for offices, will begin this year. Your license is pending. The promoters, Sacresa and Emesa, will invest around 250 million euros in this complex, which they expect to be finished in 2026.
About 47,000 m2 will be offices, 4,200 m2 of shops on the ground floor, including restaurant spaces to provide service to park users and the surrounding population, 34,000 m2 of hotel, aparthotel and student residence, and 4,500 m2 of equipment public
Esplugues City Council wants it to be of new metropolitan centrality thanks to the strategic location of this development. The expected arrival of metro line 3 and its proximity to the Sant Joan de Déu hospital, which will have a building in the complex, and, in the future, the Clinic, which will move to the grounds of the sports courts of the University of Barcelona, ??positions this enclave in a special way for companies and organizations related to health. In addition, the universities of Barcelona and Polytechnic of Catalonia have campuses very close.
The two towers are called to be architectural icons at the entrance to Barcelona via the Diagonal, which in a certain way will preside. They will be 96 meters high, 23 floors and 20,950 m2 of ceiling each. They will stand out for their exterior with two of their four sides populated with vegetation. “They will be quite visible, the same but different because one will be turned 90 degrees with respect to the other and will create a certain asymmetry”, details Enric Batlle, founding partner of Batlleiroig, the firm that, with GCA Architects, has drawn up the area’s projects . “Instead of making them of glass – he continues – they will have terraces and outdoor spaces around the entire perimeter; the hotel will face Diagonal, and the offices, Montjuïc”. Both will be crowned by large observation decks from where you will have spectacular views of Barcelona, ??the Baix Llobregat, the sea and Collserola.
The presence of green will not be limited to the two main buildings, it will extend throughout the complex. It is a biophilic conception that, in addition to providing quality to users, makes visible the highest standards of environmental sustainability that the complex will have and the connection it seeks with the natural environment, Collserola, which is just a few meters away.
The green areas will total 18,000 m2, distributed in 15,300 m2 public and 2,700 m2 private for public use. The urbanization is structured in a succession of squares starting from Avinguda Països Catalans – where the bike path that connects Diagonal with Esplugues already passes – which, at different levels, follow the profile of the mountain. The largest, in the lowest area, open to Ahrensburg avenue, will be the meeting space for the buildings, the two towers and the other four buildings that will be built behind. “The idea is that activities can be held – explains Batlle -, which is why it will have a green amphitheater with outdoor bleachers”.
One of the buildings in the complex, measuring 6,500 m2 and valued at 14.3 million euros, will be transferred, turnkey, by the promoters to the City Council in application of what was agreed in 2019 in the renewal of the agreement with the owners , which also included the payment to the municipality of 4.6 million with which the latter covers the construction of officially protected housing in the area south of the B-23, next to the Finestrelles shopping center, which is already they have drawn and are running.
“We have been working on this project for a long time, which adds value to Esplugues and the entire metropolitan area”, emphasizes the mayor, Pilar Díaz, who also values ??the search for “a balance between a good supply of industrial land and business, equipment and quality of life for our neighbors, which in the end is being the best formula to attract talent”.
The Innovation and Health Biocluster promoted by Esplugues and l’Hospitalet will be able to receive a boost with this complex. The goal, Díaz points out, is “to create an ecosystem that turns our territory into a European benchmark in health”. The first step will be taken by Sant Joan de Déu, which in one of the buildings in Porta Diagonal, from 4,800 m2 expandable to 7,500 m2, will locate a research and treatment center for minority childhood diseases, as part of the Unique project, which it leads, and in which Catalan, Spanish and European hospitals participate. The forecast is that the works, which will have funding from European Next Generation funds, will begin this year.