The Oliana City Council will opt for the second call of the public land reserve promoted by the Generalitat to accelerate the construction of public housing. The proposal of the Alt Urgell council involves allocating the old Guardia Civil barracks, located at one of the entrances to the municipality, to endowment housing.
The new process is already open and the deadline to submit proposals ends on June 15. This call allows city councils and also private developers to incorporate not only plots, but also buildings that need rehabilitation works to expand the housing supply.
An old barracks with capacity for 10 homes
The building of the old barracks, built in the 70s, is located at the foot of the C 14, next to the volunteer fire station of Oliana. The municipal forecast is to enable in this property 10 flats intended for public social housing for rent at affordable prices for groups with special or temporary needs.
The mayor, Ricard Pérez, has specified that a part of these homes will be reserved for young people registered in the municipality. He also maintains that this action would be the first development of this type in the town.
"We increasingly have more people with housing needs and being able to opt for this line of aid is something very positive" - Ricard Pérez, mayor of Oliana
A closed operation after years of negotiation
The council bought the old barracks in 2015, after 12 years of negotiations with the Ministry of Interior. The process was notably lowering the initial price. In 2003, the state administration was asking 300,000 euros for the property. In 2011 it agreed to reduce the figure to 71,000 euros, the value that the Cadastre then set.
Finally, the sale was closed for 8,000 euros. After the acquisition, the City Council proposed a basic improvement action due to the deterioration that the building presented because of acts of vandalism.
Planned actions and municipal use of the ground floor
Among the announced interventions figured the painting of the facade, the repair of the roof, which had been affected by episodes of strong winds in 2012, the repair of the perimeter fence and the boarding up of the exterior windows. Most of these measures, however, remained unexecuted.
In parallel, the City Council had planned to adapt the entire ground floor of the property, with an area of 325 square meters, as a municipal warehouse. Now, the council places the building at the center of its strategy to attract aid and add public housing for affordable rent in Oliana.