Major plans to regenerate the port area of Torrevieja were announced on Saturday with a joint public-private sector initiative seeing over €19m investment into the project.
Business leaders, investors and politicians gathered in the Municipal Theatre on Saturday where the Mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, presented the project for the new leisure centre ‘Puerto de Torrevieja’. Also present was President of the Valencian Government Ximo Puig, the minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, Arcadi Spain; the General Director of Ports, Airports and Coasts, Maria Luisa Martínez, and the president of the company Empresas del Sol, Enrique Riquelme.
The project has a global budget of more than €19 million, of which €10.5 million is from private investment, while the rest, more than €8 million, comes from Torrevieja City Council.
The initiative is described by the town hall as “A project that will convert the port area into a new public, commercial and leisure space that will connect the city with the port through an elevated promenade offering the population, visitors and tourists exceptional viewpoints to enjoy the maritime landscape offered by the town.”
The project is in two parts – firstly, a large commercial area will be built by the company Empresas del Sol. The space to be redeveloped there measures around 40,800m2 with commercial space of around 18,000m2 across six two storey buildings. There will be an underground car park with capacity for 600 vehicles. The buildings and public areas will have viewpoints and public meeting spaces as well as areas for the valued Spanish pastime of ‘going for a stroll’. There will be a cinema, bowling and restaurants.
The town hall describes the leisure centre as of “great importance, not only locally, but also provincially and regionally.”
The other aspect of the project is to regenerate a large strip of land belonging to the Port authority of the Valencian Government. The town hall believes that this are has become a barrier between the town and the sea and its use has been reduced to a transit and parking area.
Access to the new leisure and commercial area is planned through two large ramps that start, one from the eastern part of the port with a set of elevated pedestrian paths next to the pre-existing Paseo del Dique de Levante and another from the western part of the port, near Paseo Vistalegre.
The mayor of Torrevieja said in his speech that thanks to the joint work of two public administrations – Generalitat Valenciana and Torrevieja City Council – it has been possible to join forces for common interest.
Eduardo Dolón indicated that the City Council of Torrevieja is also going to play an active part in the redevelopment of the port area. Thus, with an initially planned investment of more than 8 million euros, the rest of the port area will be redeveloped, from the façade of the existing buildings, to the new road that will run through the centre of the port and will replace the existing one. Doing this will create a continuous esplanade, without traffic in the middle, of around 49,000 m2.
This space is set to be a multipurpose pedestrian zone that will allow the traditional funfair to be integrated into the planned space. The space will be modern in appearance but will encompass the existing trees on Paseo de la Libertad, with even more green areas added in. A bike lane will also feature, highlighting the town hall’s commitment to green mobility.
This pedestrian esplanade will also be the area to host other well known events such as the May Fair and other events such as concerts, exhibitions and gastronomic events.
The existing roadway on Avenida de la Libertad will disappear, converting all that space into a platform for pedestrian use – enabling some space for service and emergency vehicles, and it is here where the daily market stalls will be located (popularly known as “the hippie market”), with a totally renewed and modern image.
All traffic on Liberty Avenue will be directed through the central road of the port, and a new connection with Rambla Juan Mateo, lined with a roundabout that will be located at the entrance of the port. In order to facilitate this, a solution has been chosen that involves the demolition of the current Captaincy and Ports government buildings, maintaining only the central Customs building which is protected and will be renovated as such.
The new public transport interchange will be located on the same site.
The floating museums – including the Delfín submarine – will be moved to the edge of the dock in front of the new buildings.
Finally, the plans include the renovation of the raised walkway on the Dique de Levante, which will be linked to the new promenade. A new fish market building will also be constructed for use by the town’s fishing fleet.