La Torrecilla: how a plot expropriated by ex-mayor Gil will become Marbella's court complex
The town hall took over the land in 1994 in exchange for compensation to the owning companies that never materialised
Marbella town hall has been on the verge of losing the La Torrecilla plot of land after years of inactivity. However, the court saga has now ended with the permission to start building Marbella's future court complex, the construction of which should start in 2026, after more than 30 years.
The land was expropriated in 1994 when Pedro Román was substituting Jesús Gil as mayor of Marbella. Román signed an "act of mutual agreement, expropriation and occupation" with three companies: Coinsa Constructora Inmobiliaria, Promotora Extremeña and Edificios Don Gonzalo. The former is the owner of the valuable rural land that houses La Cañada shopping centre, while the other two companies own other assets included in the operation: three flats and commercial premises.
Gil's local government received three flats, which it auctioned in 1994, a commercial property it exchanged in 1999, transferred part of a plot of land to a third party and never compensated the owners
The town hall received two rural plots in La Torrecilla, the four properties and a cash sum of just over 15 million pesetas (nine million euros today), while the companies were compensated with a 34,085-square-metre plot in La Torrecilla with a net buildable area of 20,110 square metres, allowing the construction of 201 homes. The land they received could not yet be used for this project because, under the urban planning regulations in force at the time, it was designated for "community facilities" and the town hall even had to pay interest.
The change in the urban plan never happened and the town hall did not use the land. The file dragged on for years, even including the signatures of Julián Muñoz as acting mayor and later as mayor in 2003. The companies grew frustrated and eventually sued in 2012. The case went to the court of Malaga, the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA) and the Supreme Court.
In 2017, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that partially sided with the companies. According to the TSJA: "The agreement must be considered terminated because the local government did not fulfil its obligations and the only consequence should be compensation for the damage."
Turning the tables
Gil's local government auctioned three flats in 1994, exchanged a commercial property in 1999 and transferred part of a plot of land to a third party, never compensating the owners.
The dispute finally came to an end in July 2020 with an agreement, according to which the town hall could keep the plot of land in exchange for a compensation of almost 2.7 million euros, most of which was interest (1.46 million). In addition, Promotora Extrema received 563,000 euros for the three flats and the cash payment originally received by the town hall; Coinsa was paid 465,000 euros for the two transferred plots; and Edificios Don Gonzalo received 200,000 euros for the commercial property. The total amounted to around 3.93 million euros.
