L’Hospitalet de Llobregat has unveiled a transformative €240 million BioCluster of Innovation and Health project. This ambitious development will create 50,000 new jobs. It will also add 500,000 square metres of green space. It aims to become the most significant urban transformation in the greater Barcelona area for decades.
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The project, spearheaded by the Consortium for the Reform of the Gran Via, involves burying the Gran Via expressway. This section runs between Rambla Marina and the Llobregat river. Public investment totals €240 million. €125 million is allocated for the burial works. €66.4 million is for new urbanisation. Officials expect the initiative to contribute €4.5 billion to the Catalan economy. This represents 1.77% of Catalonia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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The BioCluster will establish L’Hospitalet as a key biosanitary hub in Southern Europe. It complements the new Clínic Hospital. It also integrates existing institutions. These include Bellvitge Hospital, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, and the University of Barcelona. L’Hospitalet, Catalonia’s second most populated city, currently has only 5.8 square metres of green space per inhabitant. This figure falls short of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 10 square metres. The BioCluster aims to address this deficit.
Gran Via Transformation and Urbanisation
The Gran Via’s underground section will feature a new urban layout. This design combines spaces for economic activity, research, and education. Officials will limit hotel use to 13% of the area. Student or elderly residences will not exceed 5%. Additionally, 10% of the space is reserved for restaurants and retail. Raúl Alvarín, architect and director of the Consortium, leads the project. He described it as an ecosystem governed by biomedicine. This hub will attract and retain talent. It will also re-stitch the city’s urban fabric in a north-south direction. The tallest planned building will have a ground floor plus 15 levels. The surface of the future Gran Via will include a central section with green areas. Two lanes for private vehicles and one bus lane will run on each side.
Extensive Green Spaces and Cal Trabal Park
The entire project encompasses 500,000 square metres of green spaces. This includes an urban forest with 4,000 trees. The forest will cross the Gran Via from the Catalan Institute of Oncology. This reurbanisation will eliminate the current degraded underground passage. Patients and visitors use this passage to reach the oncology centre. Over 53% of the 96 hectares affected by the project will become green zones. This percentage includes urban parks around the BioPol. It also includes a preliminary project for the Cal Trabal farmhouse area. Cal Trabal, a 28-hectare site, will become a major metropolitan park. The Generalitat has categorised it as a “strategic park.” Alvarín stated it has “special conditions.” He also called it “one of the most important in the future Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB).”
Preserving Biodiversity at Cal Trabal
The Cal Trabal area lies within a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) of the Llobregat Delta. The future park must ensure protected birds retain their breeding, feeding, and resting habitats. Therefore, officials will limit activities that could disturb these species. “It will not be just any park or anything similar to a garden. You cannot compare it to Ciutadella in Barcelona, for example,” Alvarín stated. The park will remain open to the public. However, its design will prevent large crowds that might endanger its protected status. The park’s heart will be a naturalised pond. This pond will connect to a central canal and a network of irrigation ditches. Planting efforts will focus on species supporting protected fauna.
Connecting Communities and Future Outlook
The project also includes rehabilitating two other protected farmhouses. Cal Masover Nou and Torre Gran will become public facilities. Three balconies and two viewpoints will offer public access without compromising environmental value. Additionally, a picnic and rest area will connect to the river path. A new bridge over the B-10 motorway will ensure connectivity to the Llobregat river’s green corridor. This bridge will feature a traffic lane in each direction. It will also include separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. “Residents have been separated from their river for years. Now, finally, this plan will allow us to stitch the urban environment with the river corridor,” Alvarín explained.
Raúl Alvarín estimates the Gran Via burial works will be tendered between July and September. Officials expect adjudication in the first quarter of 2027. Construction will likely extend until 2029. The Cal Trabal area’s execution should begin in mid-2029. Officials expect the entire BioCluster project to conclude in 2031.
Originally published by Metrópoli Abierta – Urban Life. Read original article.
