In Barcelona’s Vila Olímpica del Poblenou, residents have launched legal action against Mercasa, the state-owned company that owns the Centre de la Vila commercial centre. The lawsuit, filed this week, says the building has serious structural problems and is due to go to auction on 10 June. The residents want the sale stopped and money set aside for repairs.
Jordi Giró, president of the Vila Olímpica residents’ association, told Tot Barcelona that water leaks from the underground car park are affecting homes above the centre. He said maintenance has been lacking for years. One level of the car park is still closed because it fills with water and has to be drained regularly. The association says the leaks have damaged installations and structural elements, with cracks and other technical and safety issues also reported.
The lawsuit says drainage work still needs to be done and puts the repair bill at about three million euros. The Centre de la Vila is listed for auction at 25.7 million euros at first, then 21.9 million euros if there are no bids, and possibly 18.5 million euros after that. The sale includes the three-level underground car park, the commercial gallery and several retail units.
Several political parties, including Junts per Barcelona, Barcelona en Comú and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), have joined the residents’ association in calling for the auction to be stopped. The centre opened in 1996 and once had more than 80 businesses, but now fewer than a dozen remain open. The closure of the Yelmo Icària multi-screen cinema in July 2023 was another blow for the site.
More closures are coming. The Chiqui la Vila nursery inside the centre will close at the end of July because Mercasa did not renew its contract. That will leave between 50 and 60 children without a nursery place for the next academic year, and 10 staff members will lose their jobs. The decline of the centre is now affecting local families as well as workers.
Barcelona City Council had previously looked at buying the property. In late 2022, ERC agreed with the former Ada Colau-led government to set aside five million euros for the purchase. That plan lost momentum after Jaume Collboni became mayor, and the current socialist executive later dropped it because of the overall cost. Jordi Valls, deputy mayor for economic affairs, told Tot Barcelona that early talks mentioned about 80 million euros, later falling to 50 million or 60 million, but still too much for the council to take on.
Valls said he has not spoken with Mercasa in recent months, but the council is watching the 10 June auction closely. If the centre does not sell, and the price falls further, the council could revisit its position. Mercasa, however, still wants to sell the property and has ruled out handing it over to the council. For now, the auction will decide what happens next at this Vila Olímpica site.
Join our Barcelona English speakers community on WhatsApp, and keep up with more local coverage on our Community and Sport pages.
Originally published by Tot Barcelona. Read original article.
