Reus plans to expand its protected housing stock with 618 new flats through promotions under construction, urban changes, land swaps and the incorporation of properties into the municipal program. The bulk of the forecast involves 357 homes promoted through urban planning and another 192 that are already under construction in the areas of Mas Iglesias and Riera.
The mayor, Sandra Guaita, has placed public housing as one of the priorities of the mandate and has defended the measures already activated by the council to expand the offer in different parts of the city.
"From the beginning of the term, we set public housing as a priority and we have focused on it. We are doing everything that is in our hands" - Sandra Guaita, mayor of Reus
More than 350 homes through the urbanistic route
Of the 357 homes planned through planning adjustments, new developments and exchanges, the largest volume action is that of Pich Aguilera, with 190 flats. To that figure are added 38 homes that the City Council has enabled with urban adjustments in two points of the Carme neighborhood.
The council has also planned 78 homes on a plot that now functions as a park-and-ride on Ball de Diables street. To this are added new homes in Mas Vilanova and another 51 on Vilafortuny street, in the Clarisses area. The Ball de Diables and Vilafortuny projects have been selected in the first call of the Generalitat's Pla 50.000, the program designed to accelerate the construction of public housing.
Guaita has pointed out that the revision of urban planning is the most effective tool to generate new protected park, although he has admitted that these are slow and guaranteeing processes.
Mas Iglesias and Riera, in the final stretch
The second large growth block will come with 192 homes under construction in the Mas Iglesias and Riera developments. The Mas Iglesias development adds 132 homes. The Riera one incorporates 42 public and 12 private.
The municipal forecast is that both developments will be finished between June and July of this year. The City Council also estimates that the award procedure will be resolved before the end of the year.
To be eligible for the draw of these homes, it will be essential to be registered in the Register of Applicants for Official Protection Housing of Catalonia. Regarding this process, the mayor has assured that the council has already completed its part of the processing and has demanded more agility from the autonomous administration.
"Has already done the homework" - Sandra Guaita, Mayor of Reus
Carrilet and new additions to the municipal park
Another of the planned operations is the exchange of properties that will allow building 40 protected homes on the plot of Carrilet avenue, a space that at the time had been considered as a possible location for the new Carrilet Market. In that area, the City Council is studying combining the future residential development with public facilities on the ground floor.
In parallel, the council has acquired 3 homes through the rights of first refusal and redemption. Those properties have already been rehabilitated and have been incorporated into the Reus Rental Housing Pool. In addition, it is processing the purchase of another 4 apartments with the aim of reaching a total of 7.
The municipal program has also added 22 more homes thanks to agreements with non-profit social entities.
- Resilis has contributed 5 homes
- Habitat3 has added 13 homes
- Llars Familiars has incorporated 4 homes
"The need is very high and it is difficult to respond to all requests, but the City Council will do everything within its power" - Sandra Guaita, mayor of Reus
The Pla 50.000 and the action in Pich Aguilera
The Government plans to incorporate in future calls for the Pla 50.000 both the promotion of Pich Aguilera and the rehabilitation of a property on Vallroquetes street. In the case of Pich Aguilera, municipal planning will not be altered by the possible Francoist mass grave whose location the Generalitat will begin to investigate on Monday, March 31.
With this package of actions, Reus outlines an expansion of the protected park distributed among new promotions, urban intervention and capture of already existing housing, with several projects underway in Carme, Carrilet, Mas Iglesias, Riera, Ball de Diables, Clarisses and Pich Aguilera.