The plenary session of the Barcelona City Council has approved the recovery of the Teatre Capitol as a municipal cultural facility with the votes in favor of the socialist government, Junts, and the PP. The property will maintain its theatrical use and will retain its two halls, with capacities of 402 and 198 seats.
The operation combines the reopening of a closed theater with an urban planning formula that will allow the council to acquire the building at number two on carrer de Fontanella and finance a large part of the renovation. The municipal objective is for the Capitol to reopen in 2028, after the reactivation agreement reached with Junts.
The agreement will maintain two halls and add offices for the Consorci de Biblioteques
In addition to the scenic activity, the building will house the offices of the Central Services of the Consorci de Biblioteques, which will occupy the last two floors. The approved plan thus preserves the theatrical use of the facility and adds an administrative use within the same building.
The management of the space will not be directly in the hands of the City Council, as the council plans to award it through a public tender. The reference set by the municipal government is the model of the Paral·lel 62 hall.
With this scheme, the Teatre Capitol will retain its two halls with capacities of 402 and 198 seats within a municipal facility. The forecast is that the rehabilitation will also include the adaptation of the floors intended for the Consorci de Biblioteques.
The urban change will cede the building and finance most of the works
The City Council has agreed with the property of the block on a modification of the urban planning classification that will generate a capital gain from the difference in locations. This capital gain will translate into the transfer of the theater building to the council and an economic differential to cover most of the works.
In the municipal statement, the City Council specifies that this urban change will allow for a capital gain that will materialize both in the transfer of the building where the Teatre Capitol is located to the council and in resources for the rehabilitation of the theater and the adaptation of the offices of the Consorci de Biblioteques.
After the approval in the plenary session, the file must still go through the Urban Planning subcommittee of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which will have to give its final approval.
The building affected by the agreement is the one at number two on Fontanella street, where the Capitol Theatre is located and where the last two floors of the Central Services of the Library Consortium will also be installed.