Business activity projects can now be submitted for the first Officially Protected Ground-Floor Premises in Ciutat Vella

Now, the deadline for submitting applications is 3 pm on 1 June.

 

A total of nine vacant municipal premises in the El Raval and Casc Antic neighbourhoods of Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella district will be available for local commercial activities linked to sustainable and plural economic activity. The City Council has now opened the period for anyone who has an economic project for these spaces to submit their proposal.

These premises are located on the ground floors of several buildings. They are officially protected premises, which means they are rented out at below-market prices. The aim of this initiative is to give an economic boost to these premises, thereby helping to prevent gentrification and the economic monoculture. This experience is enshrined in the Economic Development Plan launched by the Ciutat Vella district and the development agency Barcelona Activa. You can consult the terms and conditions on the Ciutat Vella website.

The premises will be available for use in September and another five are expected to be available in 2019. Officially Protected Ground-Floor Premises (BPO) are a new form of protecting and promoting economic and community uses of public interest in the district that is strongly rooted in neighbourhood life.

The initiative aims to promote a plural, diverse and solidarity economy in Ciutat Vella that prioritises people’s needs, an economy that attends to specific needs of local residents or workers and carries out activity that is compatible with sustainable, everyday, neighbourhood life. These are the priorities it aims to foster:

• Care work and services for people.
• Community interventions.
• Local commerce.
• Responsible consumption.
• Cultural projects.
• Small-scale urban production.
• Circular economy.
• Knowledge and innovation.

Information spaces

If you are a limited company, cooperative, association, foundation, individual or business person acting on your own behalf, or any other legal form of enterprise, and you are interested in the programme, we invite you to the following information spaces:

• Week of Open Days at the Premises. 9 - 13 April.
  The premises can be visited every day, morning or afternoon, from Monday, 9 April to Friday, 13 April. There will be information officers at each establishment to welcome anyone interested and take them round the premises. You will find the opening times and addresses of each establishment at this link.
• Information Day. Thursday, 12 April, 2 pm, at Foment de Ciutat (Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, 17-19).
  This session will provide details on the project and clear up any queries and questions from anyone interested in the programme. You need to confirm you will be attending by sending an email to bpociutatvella@bcn.cat
• Personal service. Until 18 May, at Foment de Ciutat (Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, 17-19).
  An expert from the City Council will personally attend to you at the Foment de Ciutat offices, to clear up any possible queries and questions anyone interested in the programme may have. You can arrange your visit by emailing bpociutatvella@bcn.cat

The deadline for submitting applications is 3 pm on 1 June. You can visit the Foment de Ciutat office in person (Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, 17-19) on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 8 am to 6 pm and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 am to 3 pm. For further information, you can contact us by emailing bpociutatvella@bcn.cat.

Location of the premises

The premises that will be made available to city residents for entrepreneurial initiatives or operational projects started by organisations or companies have a surface area ranging from 21.61 m2 to 78.93 m2, and are located at:

- Carrer Francesc Cambó, 18-36.

- Carrer Sant Pere Mitjà, 65.

- Carrer Sant Ramon, 1.

- Carrer Comerç, 38.

- Carrer Robadors, 35-37.

- Carrer Sant Ramon, 6 (local 1).

- Carrer Sant Ramon, 6 (local 2).

- Carrer Carretes, 29.

- Carrer Assaonadors, 26.

Affordable rent under two categories of lease

Rents will be affordable and always below the market price. They will start from 8 euros/m2 for the first year, 10 euros/m2 for the second year and 12 euros/m2 for the third year. From then on they will be updated according to the CPI and adapted to factors such as attractiveness of the area and other features of the premises. So, the successful applicant for premises measuring 21.61 m2 will start off paying 172.88 euros in the first year and 259.32 euros in the third year. 

Premises will be leased out under two categories:

- Category A: a maximum period of 7 years (5 years which can be extended up by a maximum term of 2 years). Business activities offering products and services needed by local residents and/or people working in Ciutat Vella that are in short supply. 
- Category B: a period of 2 years, which can be extended by a further year up to 3 years. Business activities that do not offer goods and services per se for local residents and workers in short supply, but which are projects that promote the plural and sustainable economy needed for the neighbourhood, as featured in the Ciutat Vella Economic Development Plan. 

More information in this link.