1.75 million euros: CaixaBank puts the former ICV headquarters up for sale

BarcelonaOn July 20, 2010, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV) said goodbye to the historic headquarters it had on Ciutat de Barcelona street, next to City Hall, to move to a much larger and more modern one –inside, not outside– a few minutes' walk away. In Rellotge passage, with access from a gate on Escudellers street, the eco-socialists were there until 2019, when, drowning in debt, they had to resort to bankruptcy proceedings to liquidate the party that was the heir to the PSUC. In the midst of the real estate bubble, that new headquarters had cost 7.5 million euros –including a significant renovation–, financed mainly by CaixaBank. Seven years later, that building that ended up condemning the party is for sale on the real estate portal Building Center –CaixaBank's real estate subsidiary– for 1.75 million euros. It is no longer owned by ICV, but by the same financial institution, which has taken possession of it due to the impossibility of selling it during the bankruptcy proceedings.

CaixaBank and, to a lesser extent, BBVA, have in fact assumed a good part of the assets that ICV still had left, according to sources involved in the bankruptcy proceedings, which closed on January 23, explaining to el ARA. Judge Manuel Huerta decreed the final liquidation of Iniciativa two months ago, although since July 18, 2019, the party had ceased all activity. The workers were laid off before initiating the proceedings –they collected their compensation through the Wage Guarantee Fund (Fogasa)– and the political structure, then led by David Cid (today a deputy in the Parliament), Marta Ribas (on the RTVE board of directors), and Ernest Urtasun (Minister of Culture), was dissolved seven years ago. A large part of the membership moved to Comuns, the brand with which ICV had already been presenting itself since 2014. The main objective of the bankruptcy administrator during these years, therefore, has been to try to sell the 26 properties that the party had spread across the territory.

No disloyal administration

During the insolvency proceedings, no disloyal administration was detected on the part of the party's leaders and economic officials, and legal sources consulted by ARA explain that such as the national headquarters–, which have ended up in the hands of creditors. Sources from the former ICV leadership emphasize that there were no debts with Social Security or the Treasury, and the workers' payrolls were up to date. The debt, mainly mortgage debt, of approximately 9.2 million euros –which Comuns did not assume despite absorbing ICV–, and the drastic reduction in income were the reasons why the eco-socialist leaders made the decision to liquidate the party.

Of Iniciativa, the Nous Horitzons foundation, linked to the European Green Party, and also the PSUC, which maintains a different NIF, are still alive, and are now managed collectively to preserve their historical archive and maintain the memory of one of the main parties of democratic opposition to Francoism.

"A commercial premises of 1,140 m² located on the ground floor of a building built in 1864 in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, close to the port, with good communications, nearby bus and metro stops, good access to the B-10 road in a few minutes and with the train station 15 minutes away on foot". This is the advertisement that can be read today on the CaixaBank Building Center portal. Beyond being sold (1.75 million euros), it can also be rented for 10,730 euros per month.