Metropolitan House will invest 75 million to refloat Can Rigalt sector

For Rafael Angulo, founder and president of Metropolitan House, refloating the Can Rigalt project, an urban development sector stranded between Barcelona, ​​l’Hospitalet and Esplugues, is a bit of a personal matter. “We have had to study it very carefully for two or three years. It is a plan that has been stuck for a long time, but for me it has something special. When I came to Catalonia when I was 14 years old, I spent my youth very close to there, in Pubilla Casas,” explains the businessman 74 aged.

Metropolitan, together with an investment partner whose identity has not been revealed, has launched an ambitious operation to reactivate the urbanisation of this area in the north of l’Hospitalet, with an estimated investment of 75 million euros. Metropolitan, specialising in social housing in Barcelona Metropolitan Area, ​​has just bought a third part of the urban sector, some 72,000 square metres of land, from Sacresa and Endesa for around 19 million. The residential ceiling is 40,000 m².

In reality, the land has a higher value, close to 50 million, but the associated charges have reduced its value. The main one is the relocation of a Redeia (Grupo Red Eléctrica) substation. Metropolitan is not the only owner affected by this infrastructure. Barcelona Football Club, ​​the City Council of l’Hospitalet de Llobregat and some minority owners are also located in Can Rigalt. In the coming months, a meeting will be called to analyse the transfer.

The Metropolitan project involves building 378 homes, of which 113 will be social housing. The firm is working on a conservative schedule. The preliminary work must be completed in the next two years. The development will begin at the end of 2027 and deliveries are expected from 2029. At market prices, the necessary investment is 56 million.

Can Rigalt is a cursed project for its owners to date. Sacresa bought the urban rights in the years prior to the financial and real estate crisis. When the bubble burst, it had to send several subsidiaries into bankruptcy and halt projects. In fact, the income received will be used to meet obligations contracted with the Treasury. The Sanahuja company is now focusing on short-term assets.

Pel Barça, els terrenys també han estat un mal de cap. Amb Josep Lluís Núñez com a president, el club va comprar 55.000 m² de superfície per instal·lar-hi la ciutat esportiva. L’objectiu primer va fracassar i, el 2006, es va traspassar la parcel·la a La Llave de Oro. No obstant, la promotora de la família Marsà va aplicar una clàusula de sortida i el contracte va acabar als tribunals. El 2022, el club va haver de pagar 47 milions i va recuperar els terrenys.

“Hi ha terrenys que els compres, demanes la llicència i comences l’obra. A Can Rigalt no és així. Les promotores dels grans fons no s’hi han interessat. Aquí es requereix més tècnica que diners”, reflexiona Angulo. “Però ara es pot dir que Can Rigalt es desencallarà”, afegeix.

For Barcelona Football Club, the land has also been a headache. With Josep Lluís Núñez as president, the club bought 55,000 m² of land to build its sports city. The objective initially failed and, in 2006, the plot was transferred to La Llave de Oro. However, the Marsà family’s developer applied an exit clause and the contract ended up in court. In 2022, the club had to pay 47 million and got the land back.

“There are plots of land that you buy, ask for the license and start the work. In Can Rigalt it is not like that. The developers of the big funds have not been interested. Here more technique is required than money,” reflects Angulo. “But now it can be said that Can Rigalt will be unstuck,” he adds.

See original news published in LA VANGUARDIA