The Saracíbar building, closed since April, will be brought back into use. The municipal project provides for two swimming pools, a gym, and a multipurpose court in the property located between Blondel and Madrid avenues. Segre puts the cost of the operation at six million euros in its headline. The mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, has presented the proposal, according to that newspaper.

The intervention preserves the building’s facades and opens up a passageway between Blondel and Madrid. The complex will include a 1,856-square-meter green perimeter, a detail Segre attributes to Mayor Larrosa. The architecture firm and municipal technical services will jointly draw up the project, according to information published by Segre.

What each media outlet says about the Saracíbar facility

Lleida’s two newspapers have covered the operation, but with distinct nuances. Segre focuses on the six-million-euro figure and the detail about the green perimeter attributed to the mayor. La Mañana describes the complex as a sports, commercial, and community space. This is the difference in focus between the two versions: one emphasizes cost and scale, the other the planned uses.

Segre adds an element that La Mañana does not mention: the space reserved for associations will be modified following the recent inauguration of the Palau de Vidre, which already has one. This detail appears in Segre’s version and should be attributed to that outlet rather than the other.

The project comes after the building closed its doors in April. The proposal presented by Mayor Larrosa reclaims a property that had been inactive for months between two of the main arteries of central Lleida.

A completed design competition

The basis of the project is a design competition. The selected architecture firm and the municipal technical services will work together on its development, according to Segre. The conservation of the facades and the opening of the passageway between Blondel and Madrid are part of the initial approach.

The 1,856-square-meter green perimeter adds to the sports facilities. La Mañana frames it within a complex that also includes commercial and association space, a broader description than that of Segre, which focuses on sports facilities and investment.

Impact for the citizens of Lleida

The new facility provides central Lleida with sports installations that this area currently lacks. The two swimming pools, the gym, and the multipurpose court expand the municipal offerings in a central location, between Blondel and Madrid, well connected to the rest of the city.

The operation adds to other ongoing municipal investments. Citizens who use the future facility will find new installations in a building that had been closed since April. The conservation of the facades maintains the image of the original property while the interior is completely transformed.

The project is moving forward with the design competition already resolved and joint work underway between the architecture firm and municipal technical services. The six-million-euro figure published by Segre in its headline places the operation among the standout municipal investments of the term.

Background and institutional context of the old station

The recovery of the old terminal on Saracíbar Street is preceded by a politically and institutionally complex process. According to details provided by Mayor Fèlix Larrosa, the city council refused to launch any participatory process to redefine the future of the space until it had fully regained ownership of the facility. In this regard, the head of the municipal government publicly criticized the previous governing team for leaving behind two lawsuits and a legal dispute related to the property’s legal status.

The turning point came after the final closure of the station in April, coinciding with the launch of the new bus terminal. From that moment on, the Lleida City Council activated the necessary mechanisms to give a new lease on life to the site, which Larrosa himself labeled an “eyesore” prior to its planned aesthetic and functional transformation.

Reactions from municipal actors and political evaluations

The presentation of the winning project, the work of Vívid Arquitectura following the competition called by the city council, has generated various reactions among officials in the Paeria governing team. Mayor Fèlix Larrosa detailed the projected timeline, estimating that comprehensive remodeling work could begin by the end of next year, with an overall budget calculated at around six million euros. Regarding the economic formula to address this investment, the mayor indicated that the exact financing model and management system to be applied to the complex have not yet been determined, pointing out that spaces with a clear public service vocation will coexist with others that will require a specific operating model.

For her part, Deputy Mayor Begoña Iglesias underscored the visual and socio-economic impact the intervention will have on its surroundings. According to Iglesias, the converted old station will become a major focal point of attraction for the entire zone and its direct area of influence, also highlighting that the intervention will manage to radically transform the urban aesthetics of this sector of the city.

Commercial connection and debate on surrounding mobility

The transformation of the infrastructure is not limited to the interior of the new central building, which will house the gym on the site of the former Sant Bernat restaurant, the two swimming pools (one 25 meters and a smaller one) on the ground floor, and the multipurpose court on the top floor capable of hosting athletic events, in addition to the subterranean level intended for locker rooms. The architectural design also includes an outdoor 1,856-square-meter “green perimeter” equipped with trees and benches.

This green space will serve as a connecting link to allow pedestrian permeability, enabling commercial establishments located on Blondel and Madrid avenues to have a rear exit toward the interior of the site, thereby boosting pedestrian traffic between both commercial thoroughfares. In parallel with this action, the mayor addressed the controversy sparked by demands from Pimec Comerç, which had called for a parking lot to be set up at the old station to counter the impact of the Promenade commercial park. Larrosa expressed regret that this proposal was not put on the table during the participatory period and announced that the Paeria is working on its own alternative consisting of expanding the existing underground parking lot on Blondel Avenue by 200 spaces, a measure for which the city council has been in contact with potential operators for months.

Lleida will have two swimming pools, a gym, and a multipurpose court in Saracíbar. The building, closed since April, is recovering activity with a project that preserves its facades and opens a new passageway between Blondel and Madrid. The 1,856-square-meter green perimeter, attributed to Mayor Larrosa by Segre, completes the proposal presented by the City Council.