Plans for major new park in Malaga move another step forwards
The city hall will earmark the funds in its 2026 budget for the transformation of the land near the Repsol towers site despite legal appeals
Almost six years after the project was presented by the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, just weeks before the Covid pandemic took hold, the large park planned for the southern part of the city's Repsol towers site, between Avenidas Juan XXIII and Aurora, is moving forward.
As SUR has been able to confirm from municipal sources, the intention is to start contracting the work for this 65,000-square-metre green area (a surface area similar to that of Parque Huelin) as soon as possible, so that it can begin during the course of next year. The first stage will be included in the 2026 municipal budget, which is currently being prepared.
As the main owner of the Repsol project, of which it holds 56.8% (the remaining 43.2% is in the hands of the Sociedad de Gestión de Activos procedentes de la Reestructuración Bancaria), Malaga city hall has assumed responsibility for the development of the land after a court order and following appeals by the developer Urbania, the only bidder willing to acquire the towers for 66.4 million euros.
The city hall's plans were to leave its rights to the Repsol project in the hands of a private developer, thus achieving a double objective: to make a considerable amount of cash to allocate the money to other investments in the city and to get a private company to assume the financing and execution of its share of the urbanisation of the land, including the park.
Once it has been confirmed that the sale of these rights is pending the resolution of two controversial appeals filed by Urbania, motivated by the conditions included by the urban planning department as a result of the lawsuits filed by the Bosque Urbano platform, the town hall has reaffirmed its intention to begin the transformation of the land, including the park.
However, for this to be possible, the approval of the urbanisation project for Repsol's land, which began in July 2020, must first be completed. SUR has learned that this process is now in its final phase, after it received a favourable environmental authorisation from the Junta de Andalucía. The permit, issued last year, was key, as the regional government had to support the studies carried out by the city hall and Sareb regarding the degree of contamination of the soils in the southern area. The environmental authorisation was appealed by Bosque Urbano in the courts. However, for the moment there is no court injunction preventing the development from starting.
Underground car park with almost 700 spaces
The project includes three actions to be carried out at the same time. One of them, valued at 7.8 million euros, is the construction of an underground car park with a capacity of 687 parking spaces in four basements under the park area closest to the Dos Hermanas district. The second is the construction of all the roads that will frame the plots on which the buildings and green areas will be built, which also includes the section of Avenida Adolfo Suárez over the AVE underground railway line, with a section of two lanes in each direction, plus two service roads. This part is budgeted at 9.9 million euros and is estimated to take one year to complete.
The third is the park and green areas surrounding the towers, which will total some 80,000 square metres. The park as such, valued at 5.9 million euros, will be 65,000 square metres in size and will have a large mass of vegetation consisting of 750 trees of some sixty species to give it a forest-like feel.
It will be centred by a 3,500-square-metre lake, crossed by two wooden bridges and framed by three hills with lawns. In addition, there will be two dog parks in the area closest to the Avenida de Juan XXIII and two other areas for children's playgrounds, differentiated by age.
In the wooded area there are areas for sports and a 1.5-kilometre perimeter route has also been designed for jogging or walking. The park, which will be fenced off so that it can be closed at night, will also have 12 access points and an open-air amphitheatre for 750 people in the area where the car park will be located. Water pumped from the underground groundwater systems will be used for irrigation.
Bosque Urbano does not rule out further legal action
Although the project for the Repsol land, including the park, already has the environmental permit from the Junta, the execution of the work may encounter a pause in a new legal action by the Bosque Urbano platform, which says that the whole of the Repsol area should be dedicated to a green zone.
This citizens' movement is currently pursuing three legal appeals: one against the auctioning of the rights to build three towers and offices, another against the environmental authorisation of the Junta and another regarding the decontamination of the land, which has begun in the northern zone, where buildings for facilities are planned. Bosque Urbano does not agree with the studies carried out by the city hall and Sareb on the level of contamination in the southern zone, which they consider to be admissible. The platform points out that it is high in the extreme southeast and that the groundwater has not been assessed.
If work starts on the park, this citizens' group does not rule out taking further legal action to halt the project. "In that case, we would consider whether to ask for a precautionary suspension", said Bosque Urbano.
