Ca l'Ardiaca, in Tarragona, will be closed again after the departure of the illegal occupants. The owners of the medieval mansion, Desarrollos Arbe, will urgently board up all access points after an internal inspection.
The property adds more than 25 years of blocked hotel project and a support structure remains on the main facade since 2013.
The property will board up the building after verifying that the intruders have already left
The accesses will be urgently closed after the inspection confirmed that no one was left inside the small palace.
The intruders entered through a hole opened in the facade of plaça dels Cabrits, where the Guàrdia Urbana had previously located a forced door, remains of bonfires, and spaces set up for sleeping.
The Tarragona City Council has recalled that the building is privately owned and that it is up to the owner to guarantee its conservation and safety.
A luxury hotel has been stuck for more than 25 years between works and litigation
The plan to convert Ca l'Ardiaca into a luxury hotel was paralyzed after the sale of the old rectory by the Archbishopric of Tarragona in the year 2000.
Since then, the works have clashed with archaeological finds, Gothic paintings, urban planning problems, and a court ruling that annulled the grouping of plots by concluding that part of the complex did not belong to the developer.
The metal structure with concrete feet installed on the main facade of Pla de la Seu in 2013 to shore up the building is still there thirteen years later.
The 2024 intervention cost more than 600,000 euros
In 2024, the City Council executed an emergency intervention for leaks and structural damage at a cost exceeding 600,000 euros.
The property has also accumulated sanctions for maintenance breaches that have reached 2,000 euros.
The Government has ruled out exercising the right of first refusal and withdrawal to acquire the property because it is not recorded that it has been put up for sale.