Southeastern Madrid isn’t the only place experiencing growth through large-scale urban developments; Brunete, a municipality in the western part of the Community of Madrid that currently has a population of around 11,300, is preparing for a radical change in scale. Over the next five to ten years, its population could increase sixfold and turn it into a small city of more than 63,000 residents, thanks to an urban development plan that revives the logic of the construction boom: 17,572 new homes planned under the name Nuevo Brunete. It is, quite literally, the largest transformation in its recent history.
About 28–30 kilometers from the Puerta del Sol, Brunete has until now existed in a sort of balance between a small town and a suburb: without a shopping center, without movie theaters or nightclubs, and with the Mercadona having moved five years ago to the neighboring town of Villanueva de la Cañada, which is larger and wealthier. Daily life revolves around a few shops, bars, and basic services; for many things, you have to take the car.
That landscape is about to change. The City Council, led by Mar Nicolás of the People’s Party, has revived a plan conceived during the real estate boom that calls for the construction of 17,572 homes across eleven development sectors, eight of which are residential. Assuming an average of three people per household, the project would bring in some 52,000 new residents, pushing the municipality’s population past 63,000.
Nuevo Brunete: 17,500 homes and a third residential belt
The project is divided into several sectors (SR-1, SR-2, SR-5, SR-7, among others) and positions Brunete as part of the so-called third metropolitan ring, alongside municipalities such as Villanueva de la Cañada.
Key sectors include:
SR-1: approximately 2,900 homes, with about 30% subject to some form of protection.
SR-2 El Olivar and SR-5 Ensanche Sur: major residential areas, with the Cerberus fund holding a majority stake in the case of SR-5.
SR-7 La Pellejera: developed by La Finca Real Estate Management, which specializes in luxury housing.
Overall, the plan includes affordable housing (42.4%), which is particularly significant given the region’s high housing prices and a demand for affordable housing that far exceeds supply.