More than 18 years have passed since the L5 subway maneuvering tunnel that was being built in Carmel collapsed, an accident that unleashed a very serious crisis that led to the eviction of more than 1,200 people and put the execution on the ropes. of practically all the public works in Catalonia. One of the actions that, a year later, they agreed to do in the place where the large sinkhole opened – ground zero – was a small block of social housing, run by the Generalitat – the Institut Català del Sòl (Incasòl) – , whose works have just begun with a more than evident delay.
“The Government finally fulfills a commitment pending for too long: the recovery of the spaces affected by the sinkhole caused by the accident in the construction of the subway tunnel,” the Minister of Territory, Ester Capella, acknowledged this Tuesday in an event held in the place where the building will rise. Members of the neighborhood association and the Carmel entity coordinator have attended, and have expressed their discomfort not only because of the delay, but also, as they have claimed, because the project is being launched without having explained it to the neighborhood.
The fact that these homes are built in that place is also not to the liking of some neighbors, who prefer to keep the entire square that was left after the demolition of the buildings directly affected by the 2005 disaster since, they have argued, there are practically no green areas in the area. neighborhood. The block will occupy a third of that land and will cover the party wall of the buildings that remained standing in the block delimited by Llobregós, Conca de Tremp and Sigüenza streets and Calafell passage. The president of the neighborhood association, Montse Montero, has also criticized “that the apartments will not be for the people of the neighborhood who need them, but for all Barcelona residents”, who meet the access requirements, of course.
This delay is due, as explained by the director of Incasòl, Maria Sisternas, to the fact that “the relocation of the 1,200 affected residents and the problems of the buildings with micropiloting had to be resolved beforehand” and “it was not until 2017 that it was signed.” the agreement with the City Council” to move the project forward. It has ignored the budget cuts that affected many actions not only of the Generalitat, but also of the rest of the administrations, as a result of the 2008 crisis. And this one in Carmel in particular did not return to the housing plans until a long time later.
The site where the building is built is in an area of railway influence which requires controlling the subsoil during the execution of the work. And even more so since it is the point where the 2005 accident occurred. To achieve this, an auscultation plan with sensors has been deployed.
The promotion involves an investment of 1.8 million euros with an execution period of 20 months. The project is by F2M Arquitectura and the construction company is Arcadi Pla. The building will consist of a ground floor and four more in the Calafell passage and a ground floor plus three in Conca de Tremp. It will have a façade to both roads, as well as to the rest of the site, which will continue to be a plaza. The neighbors have hung posters with their name proposals: Plaza del Agujero, Plaza de las Maneobras, Plaza de los Encuentros, Plaza del 27 de January, Plaza de la Shame...
Fourteen homes will have two bedrooms, with an average useful area of 60 square meters and one will have three rooms and 70 square meters. A premises on the ground floor with an entrance through the Calafell passage will be used for equipment. The project provides for a porch space at the entrance to the building, a bicycle enclosure, as well as expanding the sidewalk of the Calafell passage.
