Planifica Madrid, the public company of the Community of Madrid that bought the controversial penthouse in Chamberí, has postponed at the last minute the opening of the bids submitted to acquire this apartment and four other properties it owns, located on Gran Vía. The session was scheduled for this Wednesday at 13:00, but two hours before the appointed time, the company changed the day and time “for organizational reasons.”
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The envelopes will finally be opened on Thursday. Now there is doubt whether the Minister of the Presidency, Miguel Ángel García Martín, will be the one to reveal whether there is a buyer or not, since he will appear tomorrow in the Assembly of Madrid on this matter around 16:00. The regional government requested his intervention in August “at his own request,” after the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, indicated that it is up to García Martín and his Ministry, on which Planifica Madrid depends, to provide explanations about the acquisition last April of a 485 square meter penthouse on General Martínez Campos promenade. The apartment was put up for sale a day and a half after this newspaper revealed the strange purchase and, with the opening of envelopes now delayed by one day, it will be known how many people have bid for the property, which cost 6.3 million euros and was put up for sale for 6.69 million along with four Gran Vía properties valued together at 11.8 million. The deadline to submit proposals ended on September 7.
The sale was launched after EL PAÍS revealed the acquisition of the penthouse at the end of July. The regional government initially explained that the property could be used as a temporary office for the Madrid president during the planned works at the Royal House of the Post Office. Later, Ayuso’s team clarified that this use was not “one hundred percent” decided. Urban planning regulations prevent using the property as an office and, according to experts consulted by this newspaper, would also not allow it to be used as an official residence linked to the position.
Just a few hours after the operation became known, the Executive announced that it would sell both the penthouse and the four Gran Vía properties and allocate the proceeds to the reconstruction of the municipalities affected by the fires in the Sierra Oeste. Miguel Ángel García Martín then estimated that 20 million euros would be raised, although the starting prices add up to approximately 18.5 million.
García Martín’s appearance should serve to clarify some of the unresolved questions: who ordered the purchase, whether other apartments were considered, why the penthouse was chosen and not another, what documents justified the expenditure, and why a property that could not be used for the initially announced purpose was chosen. Más Madrid and the PSOE also requested the appearance of Pedro Corbalán Ruiz, CEO of Planifica Madrid, but the PP has prevented his intervention. The regional government maintains that the explanations correspond to García Martín because, as president of the public company, he is its highest authority.
The operation has also reached the courts. Instruction Court number 8 of Madrid is studying five complaints related to the purchase. Among the documentation requested to reconstruct the operation are the justificatory report, the appraisal, the feasibility analysis, the minutes of the board of directors that authorized the acquisition, and the deed of sale.
The opening of the financial proposals and the political explanations about the purchase will thus converge this Thursday. On one hand, it will be known if the penthouse has potential buyers. On the other, the president of the public company will face questions in the Assembly about an operation kept out of the public eye until it was revealed by this newspaper.
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