Controversy surrounds the future of Gesa: the project envisions more buildings, a large parking lot, and less green space.

PalmMORE for Palma has denounced that the project promoted by the PP municipal government around the old Gesa building It is far removed from the "real needs" of the city and the Foners and Les Veles neighborhoods. The group denounces that this is not an operation designed to improve the quality of life of residents, but rather a project aimed at promoting tourism, with more buildings, less green space, and a strong emphasis on private vehicles.

According to the eco-sovereignist party, the ideas competition launched by the City Council establishes a rigid plan that includes a large-scale tourist museum, two new buildings totaling 13,650 square meters (Gesa currently occupies 15,000), and a massive underground parking garage with 1,500 spaces that "condemns" and compromises public space. "The city doesn't need another overcrowded museum; it needs a large, vibrant coastal park, useful for residents and connected to daily life," argued the spokesperson for MÉS per Palma. Nieves Truyol

The councilwoman criticized the project's justification based on the "strategic" nature of the space, well-connected to the port and airport, arguing that Palma is a "leading international tourist destination." "Instead of the document, there's no mention of the city's or the neighborhood's needs," warned Truyol, who also denounced the fact that the ideas competition already anticipates the museum will occupy practically half of the Gesa building and even refers to an agreement with the Thyssen Foundation. This agreement was signed in January 2025, months before the presentation of the Gesa building renovation project, which "demonstrates the obsession" of Palma's mayor, Jaime Martínez, "with this megalomaniacal project," said Truyol.

The project includes, in addition to the construction of two new buildings occupying almost the entire area of ​​the current Gesa building, a two-story underground parking garage of up to 38,000 square meters with more than 1,500 spaces (the Antoni Maura parking garage has 836). "It's a massive undertaking that will consume space, time, and public money," denounced Truyol, who estimates that the total cost could exceed the 120 million euros announced by the Palma City Council (Cort). Regarding the park, MÁS warns that the tender specifications only mention it in passing, while detailing buildings and basements down to the last detail. "They want to build the parking garage under the park, which will prevent it from being a real park, with trees that can take root; in other words, they want to create a garden," said Truyol, adding: "Of the current 37,200 square meters of green space, only 18,000 would remain without parking."

The eco-sovereignist party directly accuses the mayor, Jaime Martínez, and his team of promoting a project that, they say, repeats "the same old PP recipe": more concrete, more tourist pressure, and less green space, all with "zero citizen participation." Therefore, MÁS per Palma demands that the project be halted and redesigned from scratch, with a large green park as its central focus. "Either we build a city for the people who live here, or we will continue turning Palma into a theme park," Truyol concluded.