A public housing development in Barcelona for the elderly has suffered a series of misfortunes in recent years that residents already doubted whether they would really see the building finished. Some highly sought-after apartments on this side of the city, in Eixample, where the convent of the Little Sisters of the Poor was previously located, on the island between Comte Borrell, Consell de Cent, Viladomat and Diputació streets.
In this space, known as Germanetes, other public facilities have been built for years, such as the Viladomat institute or a block of social protection housing for rent, while the construction of 47 apartments on Viladomat street is being choked. for seniors, a house and a parking lot. The works have had to be stopped on two occasions.
It all started back in 2018, when the first stone was laid, but problems did not take long to arise with the first construction company, which culminated in the cancellation of the works in April 2020 as a result of the suspension of activity by the first state of covid alarm. After the concession was canceled and a new tender was opened, another construction company took over although it did not have better fortune. Work was paralyzed again in October 2022 because the company entered bankruptcy.
After more than a year of paralysis, the municipal manager of this block, the Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation of Barcelona (IMHAB), has once again awarded the work to another construction company, the third in the life of this unfortunate building. The work has resumed this month of February and is expected to finish this year, with a duration of nine months, municipal sources report. Technicians estimate that there is still 16% to be executed. In fact, the façade of the property already looks almost finished, pending the installation of the windows. During these years, the space has been monitored, presided over by an immense crane.
Municipal sources detail that the IMHAB has been forced to carry out a series of “urgent measures” to ensure the work and conservation of the part already carried out, such as the placement of protection nets or the perimeter closure. The same sources add that an open ditch within the scope of the works had to be provisionally closed to prevent rain leaks into neighboring properties.
Regarding the bureaucratic process, the City Council explains that the two work stoppages have caused the corresponding administrative procedures to be reopened to be able to award the works again, “with the complexity and difficulty” that this entails for the companies that could choose to take charge. of “work carried out by third parties.” In this sense, the award to the construction company that will complete the intervention has been carried out through a “negotiated procedure of imperative urgency to minimize risks.” In this way, the “possibility of repair and replacement of already installed materials and equipment that may have broken down during the stoppage” is contemplated. The forecast is that the promotion will end up having a global cost of seven million euros.
The neighbors have been expectant during this time and have urged the City Council to expedite the procedures and conclude the work as soon as possible in a neighborhood where facilities for the elderly are scarce. As they say, it is hoped that this third time will be the charm.
