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Finally, the society in charge of the Hippodrome of Palermo lost an important property next to the traditional horse racing track and the slots room in the City of Buenos Aires.
The Buenosairean government sent a national and international tender to adjudge the construction of a new gastronomic and commercial pole in lands bordering to the hippodrome of Buenos Aires.
This is the land of 30,000 m2 located at the intersection of Libertador and Dorrego avenues and in which there is still a parking lot with a capacity for 1,000 vehicles.
In the first days of June, the Buenosairean government sent a national and international tender to adjudge the construction of a new gastronomic and commercial pole in that zone that adjoins the Stroll of the Infanta in the frame of a project by which they would invest near US $ 15 million.
The land was part of the Parque Tres de Febrero and went to swell the assets delivered to Hippodrome Argentino de Palermo (HAPSA), in 2002 when the company took over the operations without any official permission, but arguing that the beach was located within the list of concession that the company exploits.
Then in 2007, the then head of the Government of the City, Jorge Telerman, gave it to HAPSA for free and for a period of five years. However, shortly after assuming the same position, the now president of the Nation, Mauricio Macri, repealed the decree for alleged irregularities in the operation.
Already in those years, there were complaints against the transfer of the parking known as Playa Gigena, one of which was promoted by the City Foundation to understand that the national law 24.257 prohibits granting use permits or concessions in the area of ??Parque Tres de Febrero .
For this reason, he asked Macri "his urgent intervention in defense of the Citys heritage for the illegal delivery of a public good". This led to the decree being revised and finally repealed.
However, the company owned by businessman Federico de Achával resorted to justice and kept control of the beach until, last January, the Buenos Aires Legislature passed a law to allow the creation of a new shopping center and public walk.
The project approved last January changed the zoning of the land to cede it in concession to private investors, but avoiding the construction of buildings but encouraging the creation of a gastronomic corridor with green spaces and the development of commercial and sports activity.
According to the law, it will be allowed to replace the parking lot by, among others, premises of "Food in General, Restaurants, Canteen, Pizzeria, Grill, Bar, Coffee, Ice Cream Shop, Dairy Products". Sports venues, cinemas, theaters, an auditorium, art galleries, museums, banks, among other items, may also be enabled.
According to what is detailed in the foundations of the law, the aim is "to guide urban and social development, with a view to the valorisation, refunctionalization and maintenance of the building, and thus enhancing the use and enjoyment of the urban environment".
Now, Rodriguez Larreta signed Decree 183/19 published in the Official Gazette of the City that gives the Ministry of Economy and Finance the power to lead the call for bids.
The concession will be granted for a period of 15 years, extendable for only one time for another five years and will oblige the awardee to use at least 1,000 m2 of the property for public space that allows to extend the surface of the
The rest of the beach should be transformed into a new commercial pole. In fact, official sources consulted by iProfesional explained that the objective is to pull down the four-story beach, eliminate the barred area to build a commercial promenade that follows the line of the Buenos Aires tourist corridor.
For this reason, the specifications will establish different uses for the property ranging from commercial premises, gastronomy, banking and coworking style offices. The construction of a lookout is also under study. And only a small part will be reserved for parking lot but that covers the needs of the visitors of the ride and not those who attend the Hippodrome of Palermo.
In the middle of June the specifications were officially presented and the project will be awarded in September.
From HAPSA they avoided making comments about the loss of this parking lot, although until now the society always resorted to justice to preserve the property.
For their part, the official sources qualified the company as "squatter" and considered it a usurper of a land that they no longer have the right to use.
It is also established that the funds that enter for the use and exploitation of the new commercial and gastronomic pole will be used for creation or maintenance works of public spaces of the Federal Capital. |
