ARCA denounces the imminent demolition of a singular house with a tower in La Vileta and demands its protection
The entity claims the precautionary suspension of the license granted by Urbanism and warns of the loss of heritage and identity in the neighborhood
PalmaThe Association for the Revitalization of Old Centers (ARCA) has reported that the Urban Planning Department of Palma has granted a demolition license for a unique house with a tower located at Carrer Costa de Saragossa, 19, in the Vileta neighborhood. The entity considers that the disappearance of the property would represent a new heritage loss for Palma and calls for the immediate provisional suspension of the license, in addition to the cataloging of the building.
According to ARCA, the house is part of a complex of houses built between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the new bourgeois classes of the city began to build villas and chalets on the outskirts of Palma. Areas such as Son Rapinya and La Vileta then became common enclaves for these second homes.
The heritage entity warns that the loss of this building adds to the continuous disappearance of traditional houses in the neighborhood in recent years. "Losing this house is losing, even more, the identity of La Vileta," states ARCA, which warns that this process contributes to transforming the urban landscape and making disappear the elements that explain the history of the place.
ARCA also criticizes that the demolition license has been granted without any heritage protection measure being considered. In the opinion of the entity, this case highlights the shortcomings of Palma's Catalog of Heritage Elements, an issue that it claims to have been denouncing for years.
"The current catalog is incomplete and has significant gaps," maintains the association, which calls for an exhaustive street-by-street review of the urban heritage. As it explains, in La Vileta there are few historic villas and chalets in the neighborhood that have official protection, despite being some of the elements that most contribute to defining its personality.
The entity believes that administrations must initiate a reflection on the progressive loss of the city's architectural heritage. "Palma cannot afford to lose heritage assets one after another, which form a landscape, explain the history of the place, and provide personality," it defends.
ARCA also questions the usual argument of the administrations, according to which the lack of cataloging obliges to grant demolition licenses for reasons of legal certainty. The association maintains that current heritage legislation establishes the obligation to preserve the elements that bear witness to the history of the municipalities and considers that this regulation is not applied with sufficient rigor.
Faced with this situation, ARCA has registered writings with both the Palma City Council and the Consell de Mallorca to prevent the disappearance of the property, which dates from the first half of the 20th century and preserves several details of modernist inspiration. The entity calls for the precautionary suspension of the demolition and the incorporation of the house into heritage protection catalogs.
