The Madrid government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced this Thursday that it will sell the controversial luxury penthouse in Chamberí, just one day after EL PAÍS revealed the strange acquisition of the property. The news was given by the Minister of the Presidency, Miguel Ángel García Martín, in statements to the press in which he justified that the reason is the need to “help with the reconstruction” due to the fires in the Sierra Oeste of the region.
The Madrid Executive will sell the penthouse, on Paseo del General de Martínez Campos, and four other properties on Gran Vía in Madrid, according to García Martín, who spoke in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, one of the affected Madrid municipalities. The operations could bring in 20 million euros, he added.
The announcement comes after 24 hours in which Ayuso’s Executive had received strong criticism for this acquisition and in which changing explanations had been given to justify it. First, a spokesperson said that the penthouse was going to be the temporary office of the president during some works at the presidential headquarters in Sol; then Ayuso’s team clarified that the decision “was not one hundred percent made,” and later the president herself said in a press conference that it could be used by one of her ministers.
This Thursday, the operation was still surrounded by unknowns. They revolved around the economic sense of this operation, which could have been smaller with the rental of an office or the move to some vacant space in the buildings owned by the Community. In addition, the urban planning regulations of the city of Madrid prevent setting up an office in a penthouse. Basic questions such as the price paid also remained unanswered. Ayuso’s Executive has not published the purchase file, which should contain the justificatory report or the appraisal of the penthouse.
The unexpected turn came early in the afternoon. Minister García Martín, who is responsible for the company that bought the penthouse, was visiting two affected municipalities when he revealed the intention to sell it.
“The Government of the Community of Madrid is currently focused on the recovery of the Sierra Oeste after this devastating fire. This is the priority, number one, the highest priority we have,” he told the journalists accompanying him.
“And, therefore, I inform you that I have given instructions to the public company Planifica Madrid to put up for sale four properties that we have on Gran Vía in Madrid and also, regarding what you ask me, the property located on Paseo del General Martínez Campos, valued together at about 20 million euros to also help with the reconstruction,” he added.
García Martín added that the renovation of the Sol headquarters, the reason given for buying the penthouse, is still underway. He added that they will look for spaces that meet the necessary conditions to move the activity of the Royal House of Correos while these works last.
Helicopter flight
Earlier this morning, shortly before García Martín’s announcement, the City Council had subtly spoken about the controversy. Without openly saying that the penthouse could not be an office, the deputy mayor and spokesperson, Inma Sanz, stated that they were “absolutely convinced that the Community of Madrid knows the permitted uses in the municipal regulations.” In her intervention, at the weekly press conference following the Government Board, Sanz emphasized that “in all cases the Madrid City Council complies with the regulations and enforces them.”
Ayuso has not spoken today about the controversy. She had no scheduled event on her agenda, but early in the afternoon, after her spokesperson García Martín gave the news, her communication team sent some photos of her in a helicopter flying over the Sierra Oeste.
The announcement was made by her spokesperson, who had scheduled a visit at 11:30 to the area affected by the fires that had been announced as a “supervision” of the Post-Fire Aid Points (PATI). The surprise came when he made his statement about the penthouse to the journalists present.
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