Could the population of a city like Marbella, Logroño, or Badajoz—between 150,000 and 159,000 residents—fit into a single urban development in Madrid? The answer is yes, and in fact, it’s only a matter of time before it happens: that’s the population the Este-Valdecarros Development will eventually have.
This extension of the Vallecas Expansion, within Madrid’s Villa de Vallecas district, is the largest of the five development areas currently underway in southeastern Madrid—covering more than 20 million square meters of land—along with El Cañaveral, Los Ahijones, Los Berrocales, and Los Cerros.
All of these projects cover the area between the Carretera de Andalucía and the border with Coslada and San Fernando—between the M-40 and M-50 highways—and account for a significant portion of Madrid’s public affordable housing stock.
In the case of Valdecarros, the project calls for the construction of 51,656 housing units that, as mentioned above, will be home to more than 150,000 people. Fifty-five percent of these units will be subject to some form of public housing program.
“We’re talking about some 28,400 apartments, which makes us the largest source of affordable housing in Madrid and all of Spain,” notes Luis Roca de Togores, president of Valdecarros, in remarks reported by CincoDías.
Construction Phase and Affordable Housing
The urbanization process for this development will be carried out in a total of eight phases, of which the first three are nearing completion, covering an area of 1,609,000 m² for more than 13,370 homes.
In these first three phases, the City Council will receive land for approximately 531 market-rate housing units, 544 Basic Public Housing (VPPB) units, and 1,244 Limited-Price Public Housing (VPPL) units, according to the capital’s city government.
The Este-Valdecarros Development plays an important role in Madrid’s public housing stock: in terms of figures, the Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS) owns 36% of the land, which will allow for the construction of several affordable rental projects under the programs mentioned above.
When will the first homes in Valdecarros be ready for occupancy?
For these first three phases, which involve 13,500 homes, keys are scheduled to be handed over starting in 2029.