Developers can begin the first 13,371 of 51,000 planned homes once they receive permits, while urbanisation work continues.
Madrid City Hall will allow developers to begin building the first homes in Valdecarros while urbanisation work is still under way. The city is due to approve the simultaneous-work authorisation on Monday. Construction can start once developers obtain the necessary permits, without waiting for all infrastructure work to be completed. The first phase covers 13,371 homes out of 51,000 planned for Valdecarros.
Paloma García Romero, head of the city’s public works and facilities department, called the decision a decisive step towards delivering the first homes soon. She said the city government was continuing to make land available for affordable housing.
Valdecarros is the largest of Madrid’s south-eastern development projects. The overall investment is estimated at €2.2 billion, and the site covers 19 million square metres, about half the urban area of Seville. The urbanisation plan is divided into eight phases. Work is already under way on the first three, with the first close to completion. In mid-September, the city government approved the land readjustment plan. Construction cranes were expected to arrive in the area next year.
The new neighbourhood is planned for about 150,000 residents. Around 55 per cent of its 51,000 homes are expected to receive some form of public protection. Nearly 40 per cent of the development is to be green space, with more than 110,000 trees planned. The city says every home should be within 200 metres of a green area. Plans also include more than 127 kilometres of cycle lanes and pedestrian paths.
The same approach of overlapping infrastructure and housing construction is being used at three other large south-eastern developments: Los Cerros, Los Ahijones and Los Berrocales. Across the four areas, 31,525 homes of more than 108,000 planned can now move to construction once permits are granted. At the time of the report, 5,219 homes were being built, and 110 had been completed at Los Berrocales.