Barcelona City Council is transforming the 75-hectare La Marina del Prat Vermell industrial area in Sants-Montjuïc into a residential neighbourhood with 12,000 homes, public facilities, green space and commercial activity.

For prospective residents, the scheme is intended to create one of the city’s largest concentrations of protected housing. The council’s official housing update says 6,246 of the planned homes will be affordable rental housing, while its 2023 urban-planning update described 6,426 homes as officially protected.

The redevelopment, which began with a 2006 amendment to the General Metropolitan Plan and was updated in 2019, covers an area the council says is equivalent to 40 blocks in L’Eixample.

Three housing developments were under way

According to the City Council’s published project information, three developments were in progress:

  • Cal Cisó, 49-59: three energy-efficient buildings containing 108 homes, including 48 with social rents and 60 with affordable rents. The development includes communal spaces, gardens, parking and ground-floor premises.
  • Ulldecona, 2-10: 72 public homes, including six adapted for people with reduced mobility, alongside communal areas.
  • Acer, 10: 234 exterior protected homes, commercial premises, a central garden and communal spaces, plus parking for cars, motorcycles and bicycles.

The council said construction at Cal Cisó and Ulldecona was close to completion when it published its update, while Acer 10 was under construction. The material provided does not give completion dates for the overall 12,000-home scheme or an application process for individual homes.

Park and local services form part of the scheme

In its March 2023 update, the Ajuntament de Barcelona said the Parc de les Tretze Roses was due to provide more than two hectares of green space, rest and play areas, and over 200 trees. Its design includes a larger meadow intended to filter rainwater.

Facilities already operating in the area included IES Mare de Déu de la Mercè, the Centre Residencial Esclat, Casa de la Pagesia and a Mossos d’Esquadra regional police station. The council also listed a municipal nursery school for 100 to 150 children, a primary healthcare centre, an all-through school, a children’s and teenagers’ activity centre, and an economic-promotion office among planned facilities.

The City Council has also set out plans to improve links from La Marina del Prat Vermell to other Sants-Montjuïc neighbourhoods, Zona Franca and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. Residents seeking official project information can consult the council’s La Marina del Prat Vermell housing update.

Primary sources: barcelona.cat, ajuntament.barcelona.cat, barcelona.cat. Reported by meet.barcelona.