Political leaders in Barcelona’s Eixample district have unanimously agreed to press Mayor Jaume Collboni’s government to fast-track the transformation of the former La Model prison site, calling for all planned public facilities to be completed by 2030.
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The motion, which passed with cross-party support, urges the city to prioritise the ambitious redevelopment plan for the historic penitentiary, which has been municipally owned since its closure in 2017. The site, a vast complex in the densely populated neighbourhood of La Nova Esquerra de l’Eixample, will become a major hub of green space and community services.
In a related move, the district will formally request that the Generalitat de Catalunya, the regional government, construct a planned senior residence on the site within a maximum of three years. They are also calling on the Generalitat to fulfil its commitment to finance the construction of a new institute-school, a key component of the project.
Frustration Over Delays
The Junts per Barcelona party drove this initiative, reflecting a growing impatience with the project’s pace. Authorities approved the Master Plan for La Model in 2019. It outlined a future for the site based on the winning architectural proposal, ‘Model, batega!’ (Model, it beats!). However, progress has been slow.
Biel Figueras, a spokesperson for Junts, highlighted the lack of recent activity, a point of concern for residents and local businesses alike.
“Although La Model is no longer a prison… since 2023, the monitoring commission has not met, and authorities have not initiated any of the planned construction projects,” Figueras lamented, according to a report by Metrópoli Abierta.
The call for swifter action on major public works echoes similar community demands across the city, from calls for progress on the long-awaited Gràcia’s Grassot Youth Space to the preservation of community assets, such as the historic Eixample co-op building.
In response to the criticism, Eixample district officials stated they would hold a meeting of the La Model monitoring commission “this quarter.” They explained the meeting would address the “global situation of the facilities, with particular emphasis on the need for housing and green spaces.”
Construction on the Horizon
Despite the delays, officials have confirmed that the first tangible steps are imminent. The city plans to begin the initial construction phase-which includes the institute-school, a large sports centre, and an energy transformation centre-by the end of this year. The city has allocated a budget of €20 million for this first stage.
Officials envision transforming the former prison’s imposing structure into a vital community asset. The ‘Model, batega!’ project, designed by Forgas Arquitectes, aims to create a new green “lung” for the Eixample district. The plan includes extensive parkland, a memorial space acknowledging the prison’s complex history, and 121 units of public housing designated for young people and the elderly. The housing component is particularly critical amid the city’s ongoing affordability crisis, an issue that has seen the Catalan government recently grapple with rent aid policies.
With this unanimous vote, the Eixample district has sent a clear message to the administrations of both Mayor Collboni and the Generalitat: the transformation of La Model is a priority for the community, and the time for decisive action is now.
