The president of the Grupo Baraka, Trinitario Casanova, explained to the press, before representatives of the City Council, including the Mayor, that they wish the Edificio España to be, after the work “as if the clock had been turned back 50 years”, quotes Spanish Real Estate, «maintaining the maximum possible of what remains, because 80% is destroyed ».
The Edificio España will house a hotel in the Riu chain and a shopping centre covering 15,000 square metres. “It will be a minicity in the centre of the city”, was his description. Initial estimate for the work is 150 million.
Casanova made these declarations after the presentation of the unblocking of the project, after agreement was reached between Baraka, Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Ecologistas en Acción.
The City Council mediated, in addition to bringing back the level of protection of the PGOU of 1997, and Baraka promised to respect the façade and refurbish the interior, and not pull it down, as Wanda had intended. In light of this, Ecologistas withdrew the appeal it had meanwhile placed. The first license will arrive in a month to a month and a half’s time. The work will take two years.
According to the same source, among those interested in the shopping centre are the Galerías Lafayette which could come to Spain in 2019 and their chosen location will be the Edificio España, on the square of the same name, next to the Gran Vía of the capital.