More than half of the space where the former Mercedes-Benz factory in Barcelona used to operate will be converted into public space and a third of it will be green. The Barcelona City Council made public the proposed Modification of the General Metropolitan Plan that includes this project.
The objective is to convert this disused industrial site into a space of urban fabric and put it to good neighborhood and productive use, green areas, squares and public facilities.
According to the deputy mayor for Urban Planning, Janet Sanz, the area will also include housing projects through the construction of some 1,300 habitable units, 40% of which will be affordable.
This project is expected to create 5,000 new jobs and adapt the area to accommodate new companies.
The former Mercedes-Benz factory, strategically located in the city
The disused factory is located in the Bon Pastor neighborhood. During its operation, it advanced the assembly of car parts until 2007 when it closed. Since that year it has not been used for any purpose and it is a building isolated from its surroundings.
However, in April 2021, the municipal government promoted the project and agreed on an agreement with the company that owns the site (CONREN TRAMWAY) to promote the transformation of the area.
The criteria for initiating the project were to achieve a balance of uses, whereby 60% of the space was to be dedicated to housing and the remaining 40% to the development of economic activity.
The objective from the beginning is to achieve a mix between free housing and subsidized housing, with spaces without the transit of private vehicles in the interior. Also with priority for pedestrians and active mobility by alternative means such as scooters and bicycles.
It will become a productive neighborhood
After closing the agreement with the owner company, the Barcelona City Council initiated a participatory process with the community to publicize the project and to receive suggestions and contributions from neighbors, groups related to the space and other citizens.
In this sense, the Mercedes-Benz complex will cease to be called an industrial park and will become a productive district within the capital.
Bon Pastor should be a neighborhood that generates opportunities and employment, where there is life, knowledge and a large green space.
The old plant has 195,000 square meters of buildable area, more than half of which will be used for public space.
In the area where the main factory building is located, a large garden square called “Plaza de la Mercedes” will be built, which is expected to be the center of the social, economic and cultural life of the neighborhood.
The housing will occupy 60% of the land, approximately 112,000 m².
