The 40 new public-private residences promoted by the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) in the Community of Madrid on land ceded by a dozen City Councils will allow the awardees to do business with services for users “external” to the center, according to public documentation consulted by EL PAÍS. The Administration thus seeks to reinforce the economic attractiveness of a project that encourages companies to spend around 15 million to build and equip the centers in exchange for free cession for up to 75 years of public plots of land worth millions; guarantee them annual income of up to two million with public residence and day center places; allow them to exploit private places at market price; and open the door for them to offer “other services.” This last category, for which no examples are given, provides business margin to companies and allows them to set different prices for external and internal users. Additionally, there will be other more traditional income streams through cafeterias, parking lots, or hairdressing and podiatry services.
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“The Concessionaire may establish fees for other services to residents and users of the Day Care Center, as well as to possible users of such services who may access from the center’s surroundings,” reads the documentation accompanying the tender to build a residence and day center in the capital district of Vicálvaro, published this Thursday. “In any case, these services will be accessory, compatible with the designated use and may not alter the purpose nor harm residents/users of the center,” it emphasizes regarding the permitted uses on this municipal plot valued at 1.5 million euros. “The Concessionaire may have different fees for residents and users of the Day Care Center than for persons external to the Residence and Day Care Center.”
Does that mean, for example, that a gym could be built, under the excuse that it serves sessions that improve users’ autonomy? “Gyms will not be opened,” responds a spokesperson from the Ministry of Family, Youth and Social Affairs, headed by Minister Ana Dávila-Ponce de León Municio. “It is quite clear that they cannot alter the purpose.” What the administration does not clarify is which services could be offered.
The regional plan to create more places in residences and day centers through public-private collaboration started in February, when the Community and the Madrid City Council allied to cede for free for 70 years a plot of 8,000 square meters of public land in the capital valued at more than two million euros. The new residence on Oslo Street, in the San Blas-Canillejas district, inaugurated a model that will be replicated throughout the region, and which now lives its second chapter with the tender for Suertes de la Villa Street in the Vicálvaro district. They will not be the last, as 40 are planned to be built with this model throughout the region.
Thus, after the cession of these first two lands, at least 17 more will come in different districts of the capital, as well as others in the municipalities of Leganés, Móstoles, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Alcobendas, Rivas Vaciamadrid, and Torrejón de Ardoz. All these plots will be part of the 40-40 Residences and Day Centers Plan, with medical exploration teams for telemedicine and rooms with oxygen. 40% of the places are reserved for use by the public network of the Community of Madrid, while 60% can be accessed through the economic benefit commonly known as service voucher, offered by the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependency.
Only the 19 plots in the capital already have a value of 87.8 million euros, according to information obtained by EL PAÍS under the transparency law. However, that figure only reflects the book value in the municipal inventory, not the cadastral or market value, which is higher.
It is, therefore, a lucrative business on public plots that is now being launched, and which was announced by the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, during the last regional state debate.
For its part, the PSOE adopted a resolution against that regional program at the February congress that elevated the new leader of the socialists in Madrid, Óscar López. That meant a drastic turn for some socialist groups, such as Leganés, which had requested to apply for Ayuso’s program, seen by many as a necessary response to demographic aging. In contrast, the adopted resolution recalled that the last electoral program already advocated building publicly managed residences: “Without a doubt, we are facing a major privatization operation of public services, in this case elderly residences.”
100 plots
Thus, the regional government has ceded since 2019, or plans to cede, 100 public plots to be exploited for decades, obtaining juicy profits, by private operators, according to documentation consulted by this newspaper on the contracting portal. These lands, mostly ceded free of charge and of municipal origin, host or will host at least five private charter schools; 40 residences and day centers, as revealed by this newspaper on Monday; and thousands of theoretically affordable rental apartments.
The exploitation period that the winning companies of the tenders will enjoy varies from 40 years to 70, extendable to 75, the maximum allowed by law, after which the buildings constructed with private financing will revert to public ownership.
Meanwhile, investors will offer public places while profiting from the private places offered, rent collection, or ancillary services.
