La Marina del Prat Vermell, in the Sants-Montjuïc district, welcomes the new housing development at 2-10 Ulldecona Street. Last Saturday, Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation of Barcelona (IMHAB), handed over the keys to the successful families, who are registered in the register of applicants for public housing and will pay a social rent that represents between 20% and 30% of their income.
Among the new residents is Fatima, who is very happy and excited about moving into a new home for the first time. She asserts that this new stage in her life will make it easier to combine family and work. Lola is also very happy because it is a “very important” change in her life, and she affirms that her new home will give her more “independence and peace”. Marc admits that it has been a “long wait”, but the time has come to start a new phase with his children. They all agree that living in public housing is a positive change in every respect, especially in terms of access to decent and affordable housing. They think the building is “very nice”, “different” and “modern”, and they emphasise the fact that it is sustainable.
The Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, was present at the inauguration, along with the Housing Commissioner, Joan Ramon Riera, and the Councillor of the Sants-Montjuïc district, Raquel Gil. In his speech, Collboni congratulated the families and welcomed them to a new neighbourhood that they are inaugurating in its entirety and that will continue to grow. He highlighted the quality and sustainability of the new building, which “takes advantage of the climate in favour of comfort”, resulting in savings on energy bills.
He said that one of the council’s objectives was to create a “friendly, liveable and affordable” city, with the right to housing a “priority”, and highlighted the council’s economic efforts. There are currently 5,000 social housing units under construction in the city, although the mayor acknowledged that there is still “a long way to go”, especially for young people who, despite having a salary, cannot afford the cost of rent or mortgage payments. The city council is making “every effort so that they do not have to leave Barcelona, but can stay and build their life project in the city”.
What is the development at 2-10 Ulldecona Street like?
The building is located at the junction of the streets: Ulldecona, Cal Cisó and Pontils. This location gives it a characteristic shape, triangular in plan, with a very sharp angle at the intersection of the first two streets.
The building, designed by Coll-Leclerc + Mias Architects, consists of five blocks, with a ground floor for services and six floors for the flats. Each floor has ten two-bedroom flats, one one-bedroom flat and one flat adapted for people with reduced mobility.
The flats are distributed according to different reserves as follows:
- 20 flats for applicants under the age of 35.
- 17 flats for the surrounding neighbourhoods (Marina del Prat Vermell and Marina del Port).
- 7 flats for single-parent families.
- 2 flats for people with disabilities.
- 5 flats adapted for people with reduced mobility.
- 2 flats for women victims of gender violence.
- 15 flats for the general quota.
- 4 flats for families on the Emergency Board.
The building has been constructed with environmentally friendly materials and follows sustainability criteria to achieve near-zero consumption. It is designed to maximise solar gain and cross ventilation. In addition, 30% of the roof will be green.
Construction began in May 2021 and cost €11.1 million.
The growth of a new neighbourhood in Marina del Prat Vermell
This promotion of 72 social homes in the Marina del Prat Vermell will be added to the two already delivered: one at 26-28 Ulldecona Street (with 32 homes) and one at 49-59 Cal Cisó Street (with 108 homes).
There are ten more developments to come, including one of the largest in the country, at 10 Acer Street. It is currently under construction and will have 234 flats (172 for rent and 62 for sale).
At present, the stock of social housing in the city of Barcelona exceeds 11,500 units.