The Madrid City Council's Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility Commission has provisionally given the green light to a modification of the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) that will facilitate the creation of the 'Nuevo Sur Méndez Álvaro' Planning Area, located in the district of Arganzuela. This proposal will be debated and voted on in the next ordinary session of the municipal Plenary in October.
This change will make it possible to make use of the land where El Corte Inglés de Méndez Álvaro is currently located, foreseeing the demolition of the existing building. In its place, one or two office towers will be built, as well as spaces for community services and a green area that will improve the connectivity of the area.
The initiative, promoted by the Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility Area, aims to increase public services in Arganzuela and optimise the environmental and landscape conditions of the space. Of the total area currently occupied by the Méndez Álvaro shopping centre, approximately 72% will be used for public services, while the remaining 28% will be used for tertiary office services. This involves the demolition of the centre and the division of the plot into two, totalling an area of 11,811.29 square metres.
Two plots that will transform the environment
The two resulting plots will have different purposes. The first plot, with 8,500 square metres, will be for collective use and will be subdivided into two: one part for a green area and the other for community facilities in the Arganzuela district. The second plot, privately owned and with an area of 3,311.29 square metres, will be for offices and will be located at the northeast end of the original site, with the possibility of building one or two towers of up to 27 floors.
The proposed design envisages the creation of a central urban park, which will act as a core around which the public buildings and office towers will be located. This reconfiguration will seek not only to improve the aesthetics of the site, but also to enhance biodiversity and create green areas in the urban environment.
The Méndez Álvaro area, close to Estación Sur, has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades. The creation of a transport interchange and the reforms of the M-30 have changed its character from an industrial area to a well-connected residential enclave. This adaptation to the new profile of Méndez Álvaro justifies the proposed interventions, which seek to address emerging needs and reorganise the area in line with its new identity.
