Following the rescission of the first phase's works contract due to non-compliance by the construction company, the Tarragona City Council has decided to reformulate the project and jointly tender both phases for the comprehensive renovation of the building located at number 8 Santiyán street. This decision will allow for the recovery of the property, a long-awaited initiative in the Port Neighborhood.
The first phase works, which began early this year and were scheduled to last sixteen weeks, involved the recovery of the ground floor, patio, and first floor. However, repeated breaches by the construction company were recorded, such as delays in window dismantling, leading the municipal government to halt the work to prevent the project from being left unfinished.
With this change in approach, the works will not resume until spring or summer of next year. The second phase, included within the Pla de Barris (Neighborhood Plan), is currently in the project drafting stage, but the timeline will now be accelerated. According to local administration sources, the project will be ready for tender this coming autumn.
The transformation of the 19th-century building includes the creation of an auditorium on the ground floor, five modules for meetings and socio-economic and cultural activities, and six additional modules on the first floor. This space, spanning over 2,000 square meters, will also house the new Espai Cornèlia (Cornèlia Space), intended as a meeting point for women, offering psychosocial and legal advice, exhibitions, and cultural forums.
The president of the Associació de Veïns del Barri del Port (Port Neighborhood Residents' Association), Mari Carmen Puig, has expressed her disagreement with the proposed new use, advocating for the building to become the neighborhood's civic center, as historically demanded. Puig believes that a service like Espai Cornèlia could be located at the Palau de Congressos (Congress Palace).
The change in use was proposed during the adaptation of the Pla Integral de la Part Baixa (Integral Plan for the Lower Part) for the Llei de Barris (Neighborhood Law) call from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). The total cost of the project, with the current changes, is estimated between 1.5 and 2 million euros, with 50% of the investment funded by the Generalitat through the Pla de Barris.
