The 485-square-meter penthouse in Chamberí was needed because the Puerta del Sol headquarters was going to be under construction and Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) and a “minimum team” had to be relocated somewhere. This is the first explanation given by the Community of Madrid when this newspaper revealed the purchase of the apartment. Nothing was known about the acquisition nor about the renovation that justified it. Until this Friday at 2:30 p.m., when the regional government published the contract for the design of the “interior decoration” project of the Royal House of the Post Office, awarded without a tender and which raises even more doubts in a case opaque from the start.
The first is the award without a tender of the design of the renovation for 59,377 euros. It will be carried out by Alejandra Pombo’s studio, an interior designer, cousin of the well-known influencer from Madrid María Pombo, who has been in charge of luxury hotel projects, spaces such as the Financial Club of Génova or the Cibeles rooftop, and mainly restaurants.
In Spain, the limit to award a service contract without a tender is 15,000 euros, and the legislation contemplates several reasons to bypass this rule. One of them, which the Community of Madrid invokes, is that the contract has as its object a unique artistic performance. Ayuso’s government justifies the direct hiring because the rehabilitation of the Royal House of the Post Office must be led by “a person who knows how to artistically convey a touch of modernity, elegance, and distinction worthy” of the presidential headquarters and because they consider the renovation as the “creation of a work of art,” not a “mere interior design project.” In view of this, the work “can only be entrusted” to the selected studio, they detail in a brief five-page report.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Presidency says they requested several proposals for the preliminary project and that the best rated was chosen, which is the one that will carry out the project “for artistic exclusivity.” Once it is ready, the works will indeed be tendered through an open competition, they add. They do not explain why no one else in Spain can design such a rehabilitation.
“Not even at patron saint festivals is it easy to do this. If you want Rosalía to sing, you have to properly justify the interest in doing so, based on whatever you want, but there has to be a well-founded justification. And there is absolutely nothing in that document. What image must be respected? What heritage elements are those that can only be resolved through the action of that studio?” criticizes Jesús San Vicente, architect of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) and representative of the Nexo COAM candidacy. Before pointing out that it could only be entrusted to the chosen person, the regional government’s report says that when addressing the hiring of this project, the choice “will always be subjective.”
Antonio Giraldo, spokesperson for Urbanism of the PSOE in the Madrid City Council, also doubts the explanations. “They should justify why only this studio can provide that service, what are the specific artistic creation reasons that no one else can do? It is a very poor justification,” he questions. Although for the councilor, the main question raised by this contract is whether the scale of the work justified the relocation of Ayuso and part of her team to the penthouse, which regulations prohibit using as an office, whether temporary or not. “The work must be very significant. It is usually preferred to do them in parts, even if they take longer, rather than moving a headquarters elsewhere. We have no news of the technical project [so far]. The first thing they released focuses mainly on decoration and everything else is missing. Interior design does not include structural issues and this is what remains to be seen,” the councilor comments by phone.
What is going to be renovated, according to the documentation, are the interior courtyards of the ground floor and the north wing of the second floor, the floor where Ayuso works. Alejandra Pombo’s studio will be in charge of designing everything and, later, directing the works according to the project. Almost all are decoration actions: space design, materials, finishes, new furniture, artworks, lighting, floor and ceiling renovation, carpentry. A spokesperson indicates that the air conditioning will also be modernized to reduce consumption, awnings will be installed, improvement works will be carried out in the courtyards, such as painting and restoration of ornaments, and actions on floors, structures, and electrical installations. According to the specifications, the works will cost around 1.64 million euros, although this is an estimate. The renovation of the building’s facade carried out last year cost one million.
The interior designer has three months for the project design. Then, the Community of Madrid has another four months to tender and award the works, which will not start until the first quarter of 2027, although Ayuso stated they would do so in October and that is why the purchase of the penthouse was urgent. Once awarded, they allow 12 months to execute them. With these deadlines, the presidential headquarters will not be ready until spring 2028.
“The works to be done, which should justify that part of the government team had to be moved to a penthouse, cannot be just changes in furniture and decoration, which is what Alejandra Pombo does,” says architect San Vicente. Also, since it is a Cultural Interest Asset (BIC), the project must be signed by a senior architect: “It is not done suddenly like this, [the work project] will have to go to the Heritage Commission of the Community of Madrid and the City Council and be signed by a person who is not an interior architect.” In fact, the specifications detail that for the design of the renovation, a team formed by at least one architect with a qualifying degree, who “will be the visible head of the project,” and a decorator or interior designer is necessary.
Javier Flores, the lawyer who reported the purchase of the penthouse to the Court of Auditors, maintains that the chronology of the renovation documents dismantles the justification given for the purchase of the luxurious apartment: “When it was bought, the work did not exist.” The property was bought by the public company Planifica Madrid on April 14 and the first renovation document is dated June 2, seven weeks later. “Between April 14 and June 2 there are no reports, no project, no specifications, no budget credit; there is absolutely nothing. The work was not just little advanced, it did not exist at all,” he criticizes by phone. In his opinion, it is “impossible” to sustain that the acquisition was made to face works whose processing did not begin until weeks later and whose execution was also scheduled for 2027. The contract was finally awarded on August 3, five days after the purchase of the apartment on General Martínez Campos promenade was revealed.
Rita Maestre, leader of Más Madrid in the capital, agrees with the analysis. “The direct award contract we learned about on Friday has nothing to do with rehabilitation works, as they initially said: it is for the drafting of an interior decoration project. Is Ayuso telling us that the decorative renewal of her office and dependencies justified the purchase of the penthouse for 6.3 million to use it only for a few months?” comments the councilor. After the first explanation, a trusted person of the president clarified that nothing was decided and that once they knew it could not be used as offices, they decided to put the apartment up for sale. This was also published on the contracting portal three days ago: after all the commotion and unresolved doubts, the penthouse is up for sale for 6.69 million euros. The next question is who will want to acquire it. For now, the deadline to submit offers ends on September 7. Less than a month remains.
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