The councillor for the Eixample district, Jordi Martí, the councillor for Health, Aging and Care, Gemma Tarafa, the councillor for Childhood, Youth and the Elderly, Joan Ramon Riera, and the councillor for Housing and Renovation, Lucía Martín, have handed over the keys to the selected parties who, from today, can move into the housing development with services for the elderly, built by the Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation of Barcelona (IMHAB). Today most of the keys have been handed over and the rest will be delivered to the already selected people over the next few days once the relevant formalities have been completed.

The development is on Carrer Alí Bei 100-102, in the Fort Pienc neighbourhood, in the Eixample district, and has a total of 49 properties with a usable surface area between 34 and 42m2. It is a multi-family building of social housing for people over 65 years, located between the second and sixth floors and facilities with 10 provisional lodgings on the first floor allocated for housing people who have been referred by Social Services. Furthermore, it has a car park with 27 car parking spaces and with various communal areas or services for the elderly: a multi-purpose room on the ground floor with access to the garden, dining rooms, kitchen, TV and computer rooms, administration offices, an activities room, a launderette, an uncovered terrace with raised urban allotments and facilities enclosures. Entrances from Carrer Alí Bei are differentiated and separate, one for the elderly and another for lodgings. The interior patio is shared for the two main uses, so that it is part of the set of interior façades of the building but can only be accessed on the ground floor by the lodgings.

This housing has been built and designed taking into account the needs of its users, people aged 65 years old and over who do not own property and who can carry out their daily activities independently. The housing is adapted, safe, comfortable, integrated into the community and has the necessary support. This is why the housing has concierge, phone assistance, cleaning support and personal support services. Furthermore, two of the 49 properties in the development are adapted and accessible for people with reduced mobility.

The City Council greatly considers sustainability in the construction of public housing. The housing of the Carrer Ali Bei development has obtained an A energy qualification, the most efficient of all the categories. The hot water and heating work with aerothermics, an innovative technology that provides a source of clean, renewable energy with silent technology that require little maintenance and uses renewable energies.

Commitments to services for the elderly

The Carrer Alí Bei housing with services for the elderly is the 25th housing development of this nature in the city. These 49 properties are added to the 1,384 properties with services for the elderly of Barcelona City Council. Furthermore, today IMHAB has 7 developments for the elderly in the planning and construction stages, which will represent a total of 524 more properties in the city for this collective.

Promote public housing

IMHAB is committed to expanding the public housing stock for all collectives, not just for the elderly. That is why it is the institution that has most invested in public works tenders in Catalonia. In 2015 the public housing stock on Barcelona had 6,000 flats and now this stock has been increased to 10,000 properties. Barcelona City Council currently has 73 active developments, 18 of which are completed, 24 under construction, 25 in project planning and 6 in land reserve. This means there are 3,614 properties currently under way, apart from those that are being planned.

During April and May, the foundation stones of at least five developments will be laid, which will add up to almost 500 new properties in the city.