The Palma City Council has approved the conservation of the facade of the Gaspar Bennàssar building on 31 de Desembre street. The initial plan by the developer, which had been approved, was to demolish the current construction and erect a new building that would faithfully reproduce the original facade of the architect's project. After ARCA's intervention, the demolition was halted. This Tuesday, the Councilor for Urbanism, Óscar Fidalgo, explained that the Historic Center Commission has given the go-ahead to the new project that will preserve the facade and through which a multi-family building will be constructed with 15 homes, parking spaces, and storage rooms.

The Palma City Council has finally approved the conservation of the facade of the Gaspar Bennàssar building located on 31st December street. The initial project, which had been approved, by the developer, provided for the demolition of the current building to erect a new one that faithfully reproduced the original facade designed by the architect.

The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Urban Planning, Housing, and Strategic Projects of Palma City Council, Óscar Fidalgo, predicted that it is "unlikely" that any construction will take place in the city's transition zones while he is in charge of the department. The councillor thus questioned Vox's proposal to accelerate the urbanization of these lands and their criticisms of the regional government on this matter. "Anyone who claims, with any kind of rhetoric, to guarantee housing tomorrow in any city in Spain is lying because housing requires planning and has construction timelines. The City Council begins by explaining the truth to the people and presenting its plans," he stated. In the press conference following the Urban Planning Department meeting, he announced that the People's Party (PP) will vote against Vox's motion along these lines, "unless they provide an extraordinary and compelling argument." Fidalgo emphasized that regional legislation regarding these transition zones stipulates that developable land must first be exhausted or a report must be submitted justifying why it is not being developed. The councilor also pointed out that Palma City Council is focused on building 15,000 new homes on developable land and that "more than half" of them will be price-controlled or officially protected housing. He also stressed the aim to begin construction on the first 166 promised price-controlled homes and to bid, "as soon as possible," on another package of 807 homes on land designated for public facilities. "The same criteria"

Fidalgo emphasized that the City Council has maintained "the same criteria" and, in his view, Vox has "changed its mind" by wanting to move forward with the development of the transition areas, and it should be them who explain their reasons. "Everyone is free to say what they want to people and create expectations, but the law says what it says, and even if I wanted to, which I don't, there is a legal requirement that obliges development on developable land," he insisted. He also stated that the City Council is working on Strategic Residential Projects, with more than 60% of the properties designated for affordable housing and social housing. "Everything else is just smoke and mirrors. The election campaign has been in Aragon recently, and before that it was in Extremadura, so it seems some are already campaigning. The City Council is managing the reality and trying to improve it," he stressed.

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The Palma City Council will invest approximately €104,000 in creating a new press room in a disused space within the City Hall building. This was announced by the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Urban Planning, Óscar Fidalgo, at a press conference following a meeting of the Historic Centre Commission and the Urban Planning Department. The space has a usable area of over 140 m² and two entrances. The project envisions the creation of a modern, functional, and fully accessible space to improve working conditions for the media and optimize the City Council's communication efforts.

During the Commission meeting, a proposal was also presented for the restoration of the ground floor façade of the building housing the Ca'n Frasquet establishment, with the aim of returning it to its original state. Additionally, a proposal to establish a social project at the Convent of the Conception was discussed, at the request of a pastoral association that has been working for years on support and reintegration programs in Palma. The project envisions separating the accommodation service by user profiles and creating distinct spaces to improve their care. Furthermore, it plans to integrate the outpatient service, which currently operates in a separate location, without interfering with the nuns' daily routine. The Commission also addressed the project to repair part of the cornice and consolidate the roof elements of the Church of Sant Nicolau, as well as various changes of use for commercial premises to residential properties on different streets in Palma.

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Lluís Sitjar will finally be 100% responsible for Palma City Council. The Urban Planning Department has initially approved a specific amendment to the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) affecting the former RCD Mallorca stadium, which defines a series of aspects that will allow for full municipal ownership of this space. This was announced this Tuesday at a press conference by the Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning, Housing, and Strategic Projects, Oscar Fidalgo, who emphasized that the main objective of this modification is to "reorganize the plot and improve the functionality, urban and environmental integration of the space, in addition to meeting the current needs of the neighborhood."

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Of the 4,409 buildings in Palma that were required to pass and submit the Technical Building Inspection (ITE) in 2024, now known as the Building Evaluation Report (IEE), only 942 (21.37%) have done so. 1,9 while the rest date back to 1974. The Cort (Spanish Autonomous Community of Palma) has agreed to initiate sanctioning proceedings against those that have not complied with the obligation, which represents 78.63% of all buildings.

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