Court will reconvert the old prison into a 'coliving' for doctors, police officers and professors "from the universities"
The City Council approves the project one week after the forced eviction of the last people in a vulnerable situation who lived in the building, occupied for years
PalmaThe Palma City Council has presented the preliminary draft to convert the old prison into a public residence for professionals, a large coliving facility with 139 temporary accommodations primarily intended for doctors, researchers, professors "from the universities", members of state security forces and corps, and other workers who need accommodation during their stay in the city. The project is envisioned as a temporary housing solution to address professional needs and, at the same time, to recover a disused municipal property.
The initiative comes a week after the council regained possession of the building with the forced eviction of the last occupants. The old prison, closed since 1999, had been occupied for more than a decade and in recent years had become a place of stay for people in situations of vulnerability and residential exclusion, without effective housing alternatives, (the majority of whom cannot access Social Services). The eviction, executed after a court order, has generated criticism from social groups and the opposition, who denounced the lack of housing alternatives for some of the affected people. The City Council defended the action due to the state of degradation of the property and the need to recover it for its new use.
The mayor, Jaime Martínez, explained that the operation was carried out peacefully and in an orderly manner with the participation of the Local Police of Palma, the National Police, the Firefighters and various municipal services. The building has since been boarded up to prevent further occupations.
Differentiated uses
The future residence will combine short-term and long-term accommodations. Short stays are understood as stays of months, while long stays correspond to full seasons. Although all users will share common services, the conditions and benefits will be adapted according to the type of stay.
The complex will have 139 residential units: 50 for short stays —45 individual, between 16 and 22 square meters, and 5 double, between 25 and 30 square meters— and 89 for intermediate or long stays, distributed in 59 individual dwellings, 26 larger ones, and 4 family ones. Access to the accommodations will be regulated by criteria that the City Council has yet to specify. According to the mayor, profiles linked to essential services will be prioritized, with criteria also for security and health sectors, among others. In addition to the housing, the facility will include common services such as laundry, dining room, cafeteria, an office space for residents, a multipurpose room, swimming pool, solarium, and garden areas.
Transformation of the environment
The action affects a property of approximately 8,000 square meters. The preliminary draft provides for the demolition of the adjacent buildings, the perimeter wall, and the watchtowers, while preserving the central body of the old prison. According to Martínez, this is the best of the solutions, as it is not about erasing the building from the city, but about maintaining its presence and valuing its history and its role within the urban memory of Palma. The old prison is part of the city's heritage.
The environment will be completed with nearly 5,000 square meters of free spaces, with gardens, transition areas and a solarium. The project also includes the removal of architectural barriers, the improvement of natural lighting, the adaptation of facades to guarantee ventilation and healthiness, and the incorporation of accessibility and environmental sustainability criteria. Among these criteria are the reduction of the heat island effect, the minimization of acoustic impact, the improvement of resource efficiency and the promotion of renewable energies.