The Generalitat makes a 180-degree turn to the property policy it imposed after the financial crisis, and is going to apply a strategy to once again become the owner of the offices it occupies. The first measure has been the purchase from Fira 2000 of most of a new office tower under construction next to the future Pavelló Zero, of Fira Gran Via, which will involve an investment of 68 million euros, in which from 2027 1,200 people will work.
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas Guix, explained this morning that the sale of the heritage between 2012 and 2014, due to the need to reduce the public deficit, left the Generalitat alone as the owner of 22% of the buildings in offices it occupies, compared to 63% in 2012.
Mas Guix acknowledged that renting has ended up being a more expensive option than owning, although the departure from the center and the concentration of buildings reduced occupancy costs by 26% at that time. In addition, he pointed out, it is complex to manage due to the volatility of rents. “Returning ownership is more appropriate due to the institution's vocation for historical permanence. In addition, it will allow us not to be subject to the volatility of the market and its operators, guarantee citizen services, economic savings and return to patrimonialize the Generalitat,” said Mas Guix.
The general director of Patrimoni de la Generalitat, Josep Maria Aguirre, pointed out that this policy will require an investment effort – which he did not want to quantify – but it will be profitable in the medium and long term: the construction of a new building, which will always be done on land of equipment that is already owned by the Generalitat, would be amortized in 7 years and the rehabilitation in a decade. “For every euro invested in 22 years we get almost two,” he said.
The Generalitat needs about 145,000 m² to replace the properties it now rents. Part plans to achieve them with new construction, but it also plans to incorporate part of the State buildings in Catalonia. “The investiture agreement provided for an agreement to optimize part of the state's real estate stock, and it could be achieved not only with the transfer of property but also with formulas such as permanent affiliation to the Generalitat,” he recalled.
Currently, the Generalitat has 109 properties in the Barcelona area, with a total of 453,000 m² where 20,000 workers work, both in its administrative offices and in dependent entities.
The first measure of this plan has been the acquisition of the Torre Nova from Fira 2000, a building under construction, measuring 25,000 m², in which 1,200 people will work. The building, Aguirre recalled, is in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and is located next to the Marina neighborhood, in the Free Zone, where it already has five buildings, where 4,800 people work. “We have been a key element in the transformation of the neighborhood,” he recalled.
