The project for the future Clínic foresees the construction of 1,125 flats around the campus

BarcelonaThe transformation of the border between Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Esplugues de Llobregat in the upper part of Diagonal, which will involve the relocation of the Hospital Clínic, continues to take shape. This Wednesday, the general council of the Porta Diagonal – Campus Clínic consortium has given the green light to the preliminary draft of the urban development master plan (PDU), the document that will guide the entire metamorphosis of the area. A plan that, for the first time, puts a figure on how much housing will be built around the campus. Specifically, it foresees the construction of 1,125 apartments. Of these, at least half must be subsidized housing.

Regarding the distribution of this housing, the plan foresees that the majority will be built in L'Hospitalet, where nearly 800 apartments are currently projected. The remaining 325 will be on Barcelona's land. The first detailed approach to the new housing is one of the novelties of a preliminary draft of the PDU that will now begin a citizen participation process until December. The objective of all the administrations that form the consortium is to be able to bring it to initial approval during the first half of 2027 so that it can receive final approval in early 2028.

Now, therefore, the objective is to continue moving through the stages of a calendar that has the campus completion by 2035 as its horizon. This is one of the most ambitious projects the country has underway, with the transformation of 69.5 hectares of land. An initiative that will make it possible to transform a place that is currently poorly resolved, fragmented, and acts as a border between three cities into a compact space that helps to reconnect the entire environment. In this regard, as ARA explained, it is crucial to end the "barriers" that today represent the junction of the B-23 with Avinguda Diagonal and Ronda de Dalt, to transform them into more pleasant metropolitan avenues. In short, to dismantle the elevated highway that welcomes the city today if you arrive from the south.

In some of the initial sketches made by Barcelona Regional before elaborating this preliminary draft of the PDU, it was proposed to move the first traffic light on Diagonal – currently on Avinguda d'Albert Bastardes, near the RACC building – to Avinguda dels Països Catalans, already in Esplugues de Llobregat. These approximately 800 meters of avenue that would be gained until reaching the new traffic light would be the continuation of a more pedestrian-friendly Diagonal avenue.

All in all, sewn up by one of the key elements of the entire area's redevelopment project: the three large green spaces which together must total nearly 22 hectares and which must act as ecological corridors between Collserola and the city. These are the extension of the Finestrelles promenade, the new park on Collblanc road, and the expansion of Can Rigal. Another of the keys is the arrival of the metro to the new campus. The Government's objective remains for the works to extend the L3 metro line to begin in the second half of 2028, to bring it from Zona Universitària to Esplugues Centre.

Esplugues will host the new Faculty of Pharmacy

This Wednesday's meeting has served to finalize another important decision. The new Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona will finally be located on Sant Mateu street in Esplugues de Llobregat. A location that is considered strategic because it will allow it to coexist with the Clínic-UB Health Campus, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Barcelona Science Park, and reference hospitals such as Sant Joan de Déu. The relocation will allow the faculty's capacity to be increased to 3,000 students, 30% more than the current headquarters, which had become obsolete.

The new faculty will be financed thanks to the 135.25 million euros that the Generalitat agreed to pay the UB for the purchase of the land where the new campus is to be located and a direct subsidy from the Government of up to 17.5 million euros more. According to the planned schedule, the works on the new building should begin at the end of 2029 with the aim that the new faculty can start operating in the 2032-2033 academic year.