ERC demands a halt to the auction of the abandoned shopping center in the Olympic Village

BarcelonaThe first moves have been made by Barcelona City Council regarding the state auction of the city center. According to information obtained by ARA, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) will bring a motion to next week's presidency committee demanding the suspension of the auction – scheduled for June 10 – and that the municipal government reopen negotiations with Mercasa, the public company that manages the center, either to purchase the center or to obtain "its complete transfer."

As the ARA advancedMercasa will auction off a single lot encompassing the entire complex, including the various retail spaces, parking, and shopping arcade. The company is asking €25.7 million for the whole site, although it is already open to selling it for around €18.5 million. This comes after years of complaints from residents about the lack of maintenance and the poor management in the center, the main commercial hub of the Vila Olímpica neighborhood.

In the proposal, the Republicans assert that when they agreed with Ada Colau's government in 2022 to begin negotiations with the State for the purchase of the complex, Mercasa was asking for 80 million euros. Therefore, they believe that the 18.5 million euros that the company is now demanding is a figure that allows for new negotiations. However, they admit that the poor condition of the center—corroborated by the report on encumbrances accompanying the auction—would require an additional investment of close to 20 million euros. Nevertheless, they maintain that it is necessary for the City Council to negotiate the acquisition or transfer of the shopping center to address the needs of the Vila Olímpica neighborhood, which has "a significant shortage of shops" and facilities, and lacks a municipal market.

"Now there are no excuses because the PSC governs the city and the state. It's time to act," says the president of the Republicans in the City Council, Elisenda Alamany. In statements to ARA, she laments that the city has been dragging out the debate about the future of the city center for years without a solution being found, and warns of the risk of inaction. "What we cannot allow is for the neighborhood to lose this space and have an investment fund come in and buy it with other interests," she maintains.

The City Council, on the lookout

The proposal will force the municipal government to comment on the situation of the Centro de la Villa shopping center. So far, in response to the auction announcement, city hall sources have limited themselves to stating that "as it has done until now, the City Council is closely monitoring this process to see how the operation evolves and what projects are being considered." This is an observer role, awaiting whether or not Mercasa finds buyers in the auction. If not, a new window of opportunity could open for the City Council to negotiate the purchase of the space for a price lower than 18 million euros. The shopping center's situation has long been precarious. Currently, fewer than 35 of the 83 units in the center are occupied. Furthermore, the lack of maintenance has caused several significant deficiencies, some structural, such as groundwater seepage in various parts of the building; cracks and fissures; deterioration of the concrete in some elements of the structural system; and technical and safety deficiencies in the high-voltage installation.