Madrid City Hall is trying, in its latest letter, to recover the use of two huge buildings of 10,000 square meters of offices next to the central square of Callao. Several premises of these properties are currently squatted by businessmen who refuse to abandon their activities despite the expiration of their leases in July 2024. It is for this reason that the municipality has decided to participate in the eviction procedure, municipal sources inform this newspaper.
The buildings became part of the municipal heritage on July 30 last year, when the capital’s longest parking concession, which dated back to 1972 and with which the aforementioned buildings were associated, expired. Then, four private companies decided to stay in their premises, even though they no longer have any legal contract authorizing their presence and pay no monthly rent to the former concessionaire, who is no longer a concessionaire.
The Luna-Tudescos car park and the two buildings were operated for 52 years by Sociedad Anónima de Aparcamientos Madrid (SAMA), owned by the Lleó Casanova family. With him, the four companies in rebellion, two Asian stores (a bazaar and a place specializing in calligraphy) and two restaurants, located on either side of a Madrid municipal police station, signed their contracts.
The City Hall has once again privatized the operation of the parking lot, which is why the new winning company, Ortiz, has started the renovation work which will end this week. During this period, the town hall raised the terraces of the two establishments and one of them – El Lugar de Martina – closed its doors. But given the conclusion of the work, this space has decided to reopen, to continue operating premises in a place which should have been empty for a year and a half. The other restaurant -El Buda Feliz 1974- remained open during the work despite the absence of tables.
The public future of these municipal buildings depends on the ongoing eviction proceedings. The opposition Más Madrid asked the City Hall for a plan “so that these buildings house neighborhood amenities, very necessary and requested by residents, such as a health center, citizen service offices and a business incubator for the social and solidarity economy.”
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