Madrid Nuevo Norte

Madrid Nuevo Norte (Madrid New North), previously known as Operación Chamartín, is an urban redevelopment programme in the Spanish capital city of Madrid, managed and promoted by privately-owned company Distrito Castellana Norte.[note 1] After a decades-long administrative struggle, construction works are set to finally begin in 2021 and may only be completed by 2045.[2] If executed in its entirety following current plans, the project will reshape 2.65 million square metres of land and create an estimated 241,700 new jobs.[3]

A graphical representation of the projected future appearance of the area

Timeline

The project was first conceived in 1993 by state-owned rail transport enterprise Renfe and the Ministry of Development, at the time primarily as an extension to Chamartín railway station with subsequent rearrangement of the adjacent neighbourhoods. However, the project soon faced its first serious obstacles, as landowners fought their expropriation in court, a legal process that would ultimately take 15 years to be definitively concluded.[4]

The programme's realization was further impeded when in 2004, tragedy struck in the form of the Madrid train bombings. Coincidentally, the attack took place on the exact same day the initial phase of the then-Operación Chamartín was to be approved, with an event of this magnitude being cited as the only eventuality that could have delayed this approval.[5] The political fallout of the attack upended the former government's majority, with the new government under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero proceeding to renegotiate key aspects of the plans.[5] These talks once more lasted for several years, and when the Zapatero-led government and DUCH[note 2] arrived at a partial compromise in December 2008,[6] the recession following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 had already begun to unleash its effects on the Spanish banking and real estate sectors.[5] Another attempt at starting the project, initiated by the municipal government of mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón,[7] was shot down by the High Court of Madrid in 2013.[8]

Mayor Manuela Carmena (2015–19) with José Luis Ábalos, Antonio Béjar, and José Manuel Calvo during the presentation of the final draft of the project in July 2018

After Manuela Carmena had won the municipal election in 2015, the project was rethought.[9][10] Tensions arose between the new mayor and a number of commercial partners like the bank BBVA, as the former insisted on adding more residential apartments and green spaces to the plans and would have rather kept the involvement of private contributors to a minimum,[11][12] for a time promoting an alternative proposal which would have been significantly less ambitious, but also cheaper and faster to realize.[13] However, as this iteration of the plan was rejected by both participating enterprises and legislative bodies,[12] the involved parties ultimately came to a compromise that, while incorporating many of the proposed changes, remained largely faithful to the project's previously intended physical scope,[4] with its name being changed to Madrid Nuevo Norte.[1] A notable exception to this was the northward extension of the Paseo de la Castellana, which was scrapped from the plans.[14]

On 29 July 2019, the new project was approved, receiving unanimous support from all parties represented in the Madrilenian townhall.[15] With another round of mostly minor revisions to be implemented, the regional government under Isabel Díaz Ayuso on their part approved it on 20 March 2020, with construction works set to begin in early 2021 as of July.[16][17]

In July 2020, the project was registered with both LEED and BREEAM, two notable certification programmes related to sustainability in urban planning.[18][19] If successful, Madrid Nuevo Norte would become the first Spanish project to obtain either certification.[20]

Scope of the project

Madrid Nuevo Norte stipulates the creation of 348 new office buildings and 11,700 apartments.[3] Additionally, the skyline of the northern city's business district, which is currently still dominated by the Cuatro Torres, will receive at least three more skyscrapers at a height of 190 to more than 250 metres.[21] At a proposed height of approximately 330 metres, the highest of these buildings would become the tallest building in the European Union upon completion.[22]

In terms of public transport, the plans include a short additional metro line consisting of three stations, in conjunction with a novel priority bus line.[23] A new Cercanías station is also to be constructed, most likely above the northernmost of the metro stations. Chamartín railway station will be significantly extended and modernized, turning it once more into the main reference point of the Spanish high velocity rail network AVE (which is currently thought to be Atocha in the south of Madrid).[24][25][26]

Reactions

Common criticisms of the project have historically often focused on it having the potential to further increase already existing income disparities within the city proper, with southern districts like Villaverde and Usera being significantly less wealthy than their central and northern counterparts.[27] Eduardo Mangada, an architect and former socialist politician, criticized the programme for being a private venture rather than a public one, polemically calling for it to be renamed "Cortijo BBVA" (BBVA's farmhouse).[28]

Echoing a chorus of more positive domestic and international voices, German business newspaper Handelsblatt has called the project a "key economic stimulus", citing a poll indicating overwhelming popular support for the project among Madrilenians.[29] Architect José María Ezquiaga argued that the redevelopment of already existing areas represents the only viable alternative to a continuing trend of urban dispersion, pointing out similarities to other European projects. He also called for the "anchoring" of the newly developed terrain to the Paseo de la Castellana, referring to the street as the "backbone" of Madrid's city structure.[30] Lorena Vargas of T: The New York Times Style Magazine described it as an essential step to help Madrid catch up to other major European capitals like London or Paris.[31]

See also

Footnotes
  1. The term Distrito Castellana Norte is also occasionally used to refer to the project itself; the official name since 2017[1] corresponds to the article title.
  2. Desarrollos Urbanísticos de Chamartín; the predecessor of Distrito Castellana Norte.

References
  1. Uriondo, Miguel Ángel (26 July 2017). "Madrid Nuevo Norte: la operación Chamartín sale adelante 25 años después" (in Spanish). El Español. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. Reche, Cristian. "Almeida compromete más de 1.000M en Madrid Nuevo Norte". Economía Digital. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. Medina, Miguel Ángel (29 July 2019). "Madrid Nuevo Norte, el proyecto que transformará el norte de la capital". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  4. "'Operación Chamartín': cronología de 25 años de trabas y negociaciones" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  5. Ugalde, Ruth (26 May 2016). "La historia nunca contada de 'Operación Chamartín'" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  6. "Prolongación del Paseo de la Castellana. Plan Parcial de Reforma Interior del APR 08.03" (PDF). www.madrid.es (in Spanish). 23 December 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. "Operación Chamartín, día 1" (in Spanish). El País. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  8. Alsedo, Quico (20 June 2015). "El TSJM prohíbe rascacielos en Chamartín: sólo tres alturas" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  9. Rivas, Tatiana G. (26 October 2015). "La operación Chamartín ofrece a Carmena poner fin a los atascos del Nudo Norte metiéndolo bajo tierra" (in Spanish). ABC. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  10. "Carmena: "Hay que estudiar el proyecto de la Operación Chamartín"". www.madridactual.es (in Spanish). 8 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. "3 razones por las que Carmena se opone a la Operación Chamartín" (in Spanish). Bolsamanía.com. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. Soriano, Domingo (25 May 2016). "Las razones del rechazo de Fomento y la Comunidad a la Operación Chamartín de Carmena" (in Spanish). Libre Mercado. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. Ugalde, Ruth; Esteban, Paloma (10 May 2016). "Operación Chamartín: Carmena la reduce a la mitad sin pactar con Fomento ni CAM" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. Rodríguez-Avial Llardent, Luis (14 January 2020). "Prolongar la Castellana sin retrasar Madrid Nuevo Norte" (in Spanish). Cinco Días. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  15. "Madrid aprueba por unanimidad Madrid Nuevo Norte y las obras arrancarán en 2020". El Español (in Spanish). 29 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  16. "La antigua Operación Chamartín arrancará a comienzos de 2021" (in Spanish). Idealista. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  17. Valls, Fernando H. (9 July 2020). "Ayuso acelera Madrid Nuevo Norte y se prepara para empezar a 'mover tierras'" (in Spanish). La Información. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  18. "Madrid Nuevo Norte, the first European project eligible for the two most prestigious urban sustainability marks, BREEAM and LEED". Distrito Castellana Norte. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  19. "Madrid Nuevo Norte, candidato a dos sellos urbanísticos de sostenibilidad" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  20. "Madrid Nuevo Norte es el primer proyecto europeo candidato a los sellos urbanísticos de sostenibilidad más reconocidos" (in Spanish). diario_responsable. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  21. "CENTRO DE NEGOCIOS". distritocastellananorte.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  22. "Madrid se prepara para construir el rascacielos más alto de Europa". libremercado.com (in Spanish). 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  23. García, Roberto (12 August 2020). "Madrid Nuevo Norte, la nueva arteria del transporte en Madrid" (in Spanish). madrid es noticia. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  24. "Madrid Nuevo Norte - Estación y transporte público". distritocastellananorte.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  25. "El reto de cubrir las vías de tren de Chamartín, una extensión 28 veces la superficie del estadio Bernabéu" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  26. "El 'macroproyecto' de la remodelación de Chamartín atrae el interés de 18 empresas" (in Spanish). Expansión. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  27. "Madrid: Así se distribuye la renta por distritos" (in Spanish). Expansión. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  28. ""La Operación Chamartín es una vergüenza y una humillación a los madrileños"" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  29. Louven, Sandra (23 July 2020). "Madrid baut eines der größten Städteprojekte Europas" (in German). Handelsblatt. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  30. Ezquiaga, José María (15 July 2019). "Madrid Norte Año Cero" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  31. Vargas, Lorena (22 August 2018). "El Madrid del futuro" (in Spanish). T: The New York Times Style Magazine: Spain. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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