The Metro is full at all hours, to eat in any restaurant you have to book weeks in advance and traffic jams are Madrid’s new wall, but the capital continues to grow. A new “urban development” has been approved for the north of the city and adds to the new resurgence of the periphery of the city. Alcobendas will grow thanks to the final approval of Valgrande, the largest residential project in the area in recent decades, which had previously been delayed by a ruling issued by the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM), which considered that it did not comply with environmental requirements.
This new neighborhood will involve the construction of 8,600 homes, 54% of which will be subsidized. The municipal plenary of Alcobendas has supported the initiative almost unanimously.
Valgrande is to be built on former agricultural and livestock land that is now transformed into a sectorized urban space, bordering the boundary between Alcobendas and the capital. In addition to housing, the development will also include 570,000 square meters of green areas and divided into two parks: one in the natural strip next to Monte de Valdelatas, which serves as a transition and ecological protection, and another central park of more than 200,000 square meters next to the Valdelacasa stream. The latter, by comparison, occupies half the space of Madrid’s Retiro.
Valgrande: a new neighborhood in the north of Madrid
The estimated investment is 2,300 million euros and, according to the developer, more than 4,000 jobs will be created during the construction process of Valdegrande. In addition, the distribution of the land between private owners and municipal plots allows the city council to promote policies of access to housing, so necessary at this time. There will be everything from studios for young people and families to single-family homes and rental apartments.
The challenge for the government of the Community in the coming years will be to accompany this urban growth, which is taking place in almost all its cardinal points, with an appropriate management of public infrastructures, traffic and energy supply, since the arrival of thousands of new residents will increase both demand and dynamism in the region.