The controversial plot that the Almeida government gave to an order of the Catholic Church in the Almendrales neighborhood (Usera) has just returned to municipal hands. The community of the Lamb, an entity awarded to these lands until 2097, gave up its project a few days ago and communicated it to the Madrid City Council, according to documentation to which this newspaper has had access.
The dismissal to execute the work was resolved on February 14, when the General Directorate of the Building, belonging to the Urban Planning area, confirmed the cancellation of the urban license to build the monastery. “The possible construction executed under the basic license granted by resolution dated 08/2024 is without the possibility of use or operation,” details the document consulted by Somos Madrid.
A few days before, the Lamb’s own community had hung a statement on its website explaining its dismissal for economic issues: “having the license to start the work, and even the date of the first stone, at the end of December the final budget arrived and it turned out to be twice the initial project”, detailed those responsible and then affirmed that “the construction prices have shot them poor, to make the difficult decision to stop the project. ” Then, they added that these religious could not live “in buildings whose cost is so high, and we want to remain faithful to our charism of evangelical simplicity.”
In the same statement they announced that the plot, of 2,733.82 square meters and valued at 101,320.40 euros, would be returned to the City Council. The initial cost planned for the monastery was around two million euros, with which the complex, with two floors, with porch and cloister, were going to build, according to the advanced data in 2022 by this newspaper.
The award of the City Council occurred by public tender, although as it was tailored to the demanding entity, there was no other candidacy of non -profit religious entities, the only ones who could opt for it. The duration of the assignment was 75 years from the formalization, the maximum period allowed by law.
The plot that had been assigned to the Church has an unbeatable communication: it is located next to the Almendrales Metro, in numbers 17 and 19 of Córdoba Avenue, and due to its central location in this neighborhood a group of neighbors of Usera opposed the free delivery of the land. A collection of signatures contrary to the assignment reached 1,800 supports And, at the same time, he proposed to build in his place “a public institute, something that would benefit the entire community interchangeably with their beliefs.” Or also sports facilities “like a gym or a covered pool.”
We are Madrid, he asked the urban planning area for what will be the fate of this plot, now that its use has been vacant. So far this newspaper has not obtained any response.
More Madrid, a party that denounced in its day the free delivery of this plot, has also demanded that the Consistory “leave for shortcuts and allocate the plot, with almost 5,000 meters of buildable, to implement the endowments and equipment that the neighbors of Almendrales need,” says Councilor Mar Barberán in statements to this medium. The opposition party recalls that this area is “a neighborhood that has experienced a significant increase in its population in recent years, but that lacks high school, pool or youth center.”
Return of donations
The Lamb community is a very young religious order. He was born as part of the Catholic Church in 1981, within the Dominican family, and has congregations of nuns and monks. Their activity focuses on cities and, since it is a begging order, its main economic resources obtained from donations.
In the brochures that he distributed among the faithful to obtain economic support towards his monastery, he defined his mission as “fully living the cheerful message of the Gospel, opening its doors to all, believers or not”, in addition to offering food to those in need or “going out to the peripheries to mean incessant the proximity of God’s love”.
Both in the brochures and on their website the possible donation routes, such as transfers through several bank accounts, bizum shipments or direct contributions of materials such as cement, rock wool, PVC windows, PVC windows or boilers, among others. In addition, they claimed the help of professionals who offered “their competencies” in painting, carpentry, electricity or plumbing.
The community of the Lamb has assured with the end of its project that the funds so far delivered “are made available to donors.”
Other assignments of plots to the Church
Almendrales’s is one of the three lands that the Madrid City Council delivered to the Church in 2022 for the development of different projects. The others were in Vallecas and Aravaca, with a total value of 757,304.95 euros, according to municipal data.
Those projects were managed from Urbanismo, then directed by a Councilor for Citizens. But the last attempts to assign the Catholic Church were already with the government of the PP alone, in Valdebebas and in the Cañaveral.
In the case of Valdebebas, the project to lift a minivatican on a plot valued at 4.6 million was lost due to the debts of the Catholic Church with the City Council, which forced the contest to annul.
“It is not the first time that Almeida leaves him lying after serving in public land to entrepreneurs or the church,” recalls Councilwoman Mar Barberán. “What has happened now we have seen before with the construction of the sports center. He designed them with business criteria so that the great managers come out of the accounts and have left him lying up to 5 times because there were 5 sports center that were deserted, ”he adds in statements to this newspaper. “Not even making a custom suit is able to find investors who do what your City Council is unable to do.”
Finally, from more Madrid they consider that Almeida “should not manage thinking about how to content the great fortunes, the promoters, the real estate companies, their friends or the Church, cannot continue to make it easier for business to be done at the expense of the municipal heritage.” And Barberán proposes: “What the mayor should do is call Ayuso so that a public institute is built on that plot. And put to work in the area of works and equipment to meet the rest of the needs of the area. ”
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