How to rent El Ingenio and 35 other premises in Barcelona at a ‘social’ price

Sugar Mizzy November 26, 2022

From a local of 90 square meters per 381.1 euros per month in the humble neighborhood of Verdum, up to 711 meters and 2,700 euros in Josep Tarradelles avenue, in the Nova Esquerra de l’Eixample. Passing through the emblematic The Ingenuity in the Gòtic. This is how disparate is the offer launched from the municipal plan’Number of blinds‘, which pursues facilitate rents below the usual market price to implement economic activities that are economically viable but also have a positive impact on the environment. Last October started the candidate search for the 36 options that make up the first bagthroughout the city, after the Barcelona City Council acquired them for this purpose. remain three Fridays of open days to visit them and make accounts, because the decision is not easy. Rentals may require ‘low cost’, but some require many works and there are not few requirements to get hold of them.

The consistory opened two calls to visit them for seven Fridays and present ‘nominations’ until January 20. There is a general, with 23 small and medium stores (from less than 100 square meters to 400) and 4 for premises large (from 400 to 1,000 m²). The package that articulates the Institute of Culture has also been included for another nine, designed for activities or products culturalfrom creation workshops to bookstores or record stores.

for now, The response has been mixed and moderate: about 60 visits in total each day (with some deserted spaces), about 160 written queries and a hundred attendees at the online information sessions. Until this Friday all but two cases could be visited, one in Jaume Giralt whose purchase has just been closed and which can be seen on December 9 and 16 and January 13and the spaces in the Palo Alto complex in Poblenou that will soon be free but where work is still going on.

Two-Way Boost

In 2021, the city council announced that the program would serve to revitalize empty premises, after the many closures caused by the pandemic. At present, the approach is that they will become a opportunity for entrepreneurs who cannot access a business at market price or that they are being pushed out of their current location by real estate pressure. “The same idea applies as with housing, when there is gentrification, commerce is also expelled,” says the deputy mayor and councilor for the Neighborhood Plan, Jordi Martí. In this case (contrary to the Parisian model on which the plan is inspired) “it is not a question of directing the activity to a certain type of commerce” (or deficit) but of helping those who need it to be able to promote a business.

However, on the payroll there are several spaces without gentrification visas, in affordable areas of Horta-Guinardó, Nou Barris and Sant Andreu, where the final function will undoubtedly also be dynamic.

Is the attempt a needle in a bird?, as some business entities complain that they believe that the offer is so limited that it cannot have an effect in the neighborhoods. For the city council it is a first step, with a formula that can be varied or improved, assumes Martí. At the moment, there is options for 544 euros (72 square meters) in the street of La Lluna; for the same price in Carme, 112 (where in addition to total reform you have to gain 60 centimeters in height to legalize its use); 689.7 euros for 87 meters on Avenida de Mistral, although in some interior galleries; 834 euros at number 63 of Bailén with a 10+2 year contract given the important reform; 2,177 for the 308 meters of what was a workshop in Rocafort; 931 euros for 108 meters in Verdi street, in several rooms; 762 by 88 meters in the Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim neighbourhood; or 2,178 by 394.8 meters in Barcelona, in a space with rooms and offices.

Depending on the type of activity and its characteristics, you can opt for premises with rents between 30% (general) and 40% (cultural) below market prices, at which 10% is added when they are located in areas with stressed markets, such as Ciutat Vella or the Eixample. will be signed 5, 7 or 10 year contracts duration, with a 2-year extension, depending on the works or investment required. In all cases, if there is a substantial improvement, the return on investment will be valued with an extra monthly discount on the rent, explain sources of Promotion of Ciutat.

Thus, giving an example, in the case of the only iconic place that carries a cultural legacyme, The sugar mill on Rauric street, In Ciutat Vella, not only will the projects value this heritage be scored more, but a reduction of up to 50,000 euros in expenses can be obtained, taking into account the strong investment required. Thus, the starting price of 1,815 euros (which is already the 50% market appraisal of the area, for its 464 square meters), underline, it could stay at 500 less per month to compensate for the reform if the corresponding invoices are presented.

The establishment is a wonder where many of its treasures are preserved, from traditional furniture to their big heads and handmade masks, lined up as if someone had fled. It is one of the most visited, large but with signs of humidity on its walls and an important work in sight. near, in the BornOn Semoleres street, among a few closed premises, another piece is offered that shortly before was housed by a bread and pasta workshop, so decadent and in need of investment that it is hard to think that someone ate there.

The general criteria for evaluating projects are the feasibility of the business and that they have positive impact in the neighbourhoods, creating synergies in the area or contributing to the circular economy. In each case, some scoring criteria will be applied, which can be consulted on the plan’s municipal website.Number of blinds‘. For example, sustainable food, services for people, projects that benefit the community, or actions linked to the Neighborhood Plan are especially well received.