The Port processes 175 homes in Jardín de Cano: 105 will be VPO

El Puerto de Santa María is processing three developments in Jardín de Cano that will total 175 homes, of which 105 will be affordable. The project will occupy an urban void next to the historic center and will also include market-rate homes, commercial premises, garages, and storage rooms. The move is particularly interesting because it brings new residential activity to an area previously considered forgotten by the City Council.

Jardín de Cano prepares 175 homes next to the Historic Center

What has been approved on the Jardín de Cano plot?

The Monitoring and Evaluation Committee of the Special Plan of the City Council of El Puerto de Santa María has given the green light to the project to build 70 new homes on a plot located on the edge of the historic district. The development is promoted by Basico Homes and will include commercial premises, a basement for garages and storage rooms.

The location is key. This is not a development far from the center but an intervention in the so-called respect zone of the historic district. That is why the City Council considers it especially relevant: it will allow continued housing generation in the center itself and, at the same time, occupy an urban space that had long lacked a building solution.

The volume also marks a difference compared to the usual operations within the historic center. According to the municipal assessment, this is a larger-scale development than those usually carried out in the area, although its position on the edge of the protected area allows it to fit into the planned zoning.

A market-rate development and two affordable housing projects

The 70 apartments promoted by Basico Homes are part of a broader group. To this project are added two other developments that have received favorable reports, raising the total number to 175 homes in Jardín de Cano and its surroundings.

• Basico Homes: 70 new homes, with commercial premises, garages, and storage rooms.
• Avanza El Puerto: 55 affordable housing units in AER 23 on La Rosa street.
• Propco Orange: 50 affordable homes on Racimo street, near the intervention area.

The planned distribution leaves approximately 105 affordable homes and 70 market-rate homes, all with their corresponding garages and storage rooms. For the residents of El Puerto, this figure is not minor: the operation combines market housing with a significant portion of affordable housing in a location close to the center, where every new available plot counts.

The area goes from an urban void to becoming a residential focus

Why does this development matter to residents?

The answer lies in the location: the developments are situated around the historic center of El Puerto, in an area the City Council describes as previously forgotten. It is not just building homes; it is reactivating an urban piece located next to the historic district. This difference changes the operation’s effect on the surroundings.

The Committee itself has noted that developer interest in Jardín de Cano is growing. First comes housing, but with it appear commercial premises, garages, storage rooms, and new service needs. The desired result is that the recovery of the center does not depend solely on large interventions but also on concrete actions occupying plots and reactivating buildings.

There is a particularly clear local interpretation: the three developments are not presented as isolated projects but as part of a sequence of actions in the respect zone. A total of 70, 55, and 50 homes could change the scale of an area that until now was not among the busiest points of the center. Therein lies the true scope of the announcement.

The decree that allows increased buildability

The developments by Avanza El Puerto and Propco Orange benefit from a decree by the Andalusian government that allowed a 20% increase in buildability when the housing included some form of protection. This mechanism explains how the 55 affordable homes on La Rosa street and the 50 on Racimo street are planned.

The formula links urban development capacity with the creation of affordable housing. In this case, the effect is focused on an area close to the historic center, not on peripheral expansion. For El Puerto, this location adds value to an operation already distinguished by the number of homes planned.

The City Council places these developments within a broader interest in residential use. The deputy mayor for Urban Planning, Urban Development, and Historic Center, Danuxia Enciso, has pointed out that the Committee’s activity shows that the historic center is proving attractive to developers, especially in housing, investment, and activity.

More procedures, heritage, and urban networks in the Center

How is the arrival of licenses being accelerated?

The Committee meets monthly and allows direct review with municipal technicians and the rest of its members of the planned actions in protected buildings. The objective is to balance heritage conservation with solutions that make projects viable and later allow progress toward licenses.

The City Council also highlights public-private collaboration through urban certifying entities promoted by Andalusian land legislation. With the mandatory authorizations from the Committee and Culture in Cádiz for archaeological activity, this system seeks to reduce processing times for permits.

This approach is complemented by an electronic window aimed at facilitating relationships among citizens, owners, and developers with the Urban Planning area. On paper, the combination of periodic meetings, certification, and digital management offers a more defined path for projects that must meet heritage and urban planning requirements.

Recovery building by building and street by street

The Jardín de Cano project does not come alone. In the latest session of the Local Committee, smaller-scale heritage interventions were also authorized, such as converting premises into homes and work on facades.

These are less striking works than a 70-home development, but their effect is measured differently. The City Council considers them necessary so that the recovery of the center is visible building by building and street by street. This is the less spectacular part of the process and, perhaps, the one that best helps gauge whether change truly reaches the urban fabric.

Also included are works to renew connections and sanitation on Ganado street, promoted by Apemsa. The work will allow replacing and modernizing existing networks, which are often outdated in the historic center’s streets. Thus, the new housing shares urban files with infrastructure improvements affecting the daily functioning of the center.

The current urban framework also has a decisive precedent. The City Council maintains that the approval of the Peprichye, after 30 years stalled, has allowed specific rules for the historic center and provided the Municipality with tools to act more securely and agilely, even after the annulment of the 2012 PGOU.

With the three Jardín de Cano developments, this framework begins to translate into concrete actions: 175 homes, 105 affordable, a market-rate development of 70 apartments, new commercial premises, and associated heritage and infrastructure works. The challenge is no longer just to announce projects but to turn this favorable processing into visible works next to the center of El Puerto.

Jardín de Cano concentrates 175 new homes in three developments that combine market-rate and affordable housing, with 105 affordable homes planned in the area. The operation also includes commercial premises, garages, storage rooms, sanitation improvements on Ganado street, and works on buildings and facades. For El Puerto, the decisive fact is that an urban void next to the historic center begins to transform into housing and activity.

Source of the article: Europa Press