Madrid Nuevo Norte

Madrid Nuevo Norte (Madrid New North) or Distrito Castellana Norte, previously known as Operación Chamartín, is an urban redevelopment programme in the Spanish capital city of Madrid. After a decades-long administrative struggle, construction works are set to finally begin in 2020 and may only be completed in 2045.[1] The project, if executed in its entirety following current plans, will reshape approximately 2,65 million square metres of land and create 241.700 new jobs.[2]

History

The project was first conceived in 1993 by state-owned rail transport enterprise Renfe and the Ministerio de fomento (Ministry of Development), at the time primarily as an extension to Chamartín railway station with subsequent rearrangement of the adjacent neighbourhoods. However, the project soon faced its first serious obstacles, as land owners fought their expropriation in court, a legal process that would ultimately take all of 15 years to be completed.[3]

The project's realization was further impeded when in 2004, tragedy struck in the form of the Madrid train bombings. Coincidentally, the attack took place on the exact same day the initial phase of the then-Operación Chamartín was to be approved, with an event of this scale being virtually the only thing that would still be able to deter the implementation of the plans.[4]

As the following years saw a general slowdown in urban construction projects due to the economic fallout of the 2007-08 global financial crisis, among those being many previously planned extensions of the Metro network, Operación Chamartín once more had to take a back seat for several years. Only in 2015, after Manuela Carmena had won the municipal elections, was the project revitalized, with its name being changed to Madrid Nuevo Norte. Some diplomatic problems between the new, left-leaning mayor and some participating enterprises like the bank BBVA followed, as the former insisted on adding more residential apartments and green spaces to the plans and would have rather kept the involvement of private contributors to a minimum. However, the common desire to finally get the project of the ground proved to be stronger than individual interests and in 2017, all parties involved came to an agreement, with many of the suggested changes being implemented.[3]

On 29 July 2019, the project was approved, receiving unanimous support from all parties represented in the Madrilenian townhall.[5]

Scope of the project

Madrid Nuevo Norte stipulates the creation of 348 new office buildings and 11.700 apartments.[2] Additionally, the skyline of the northern city's business district, which is currently still dominated by the Cuatro Torres, will receive at least three more skyscrapers at a height of 190 to more than 250 metres.[6] At a projected height of approximately 330 metres, the highest of these buildings would become the tallest building in the European Union upon completion.[7]

As far as public transport is concerned, the plans include a short additional metro line consisting of three new stations. A new Cercanías station is also to be constructed, most likely above the northernmost of the metro stations. Chamartín railway station will be significantly extended and modernized, turning it once more into the main reference point of the Spanish high velocity rail network AVE (which is currently thought to be Atocha in the south of Madrid).[8][9]

References
  1. Reche, Cristian. "Almeida compromete más de 1.000M en Madrid Nuevo Norte". Economía Digital. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  2. Medina, Miguel Ángel (29 July 2019). "Madrid Nuevo Norte, el proyecto que transformará el norte de la capital". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. "'Operación Chamartín': cronología de 25 años de trabas y negociaciones". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 27 July 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  4. "La historia nunca contada de 'Operación Chamartín'". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  5. "Madrid aprueba por unanimidad Madrid Nuevo Norte y las obras arrancarán en 2020". El Español (in Spanish). 29 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  6. "CENTRO DE NEGOCIOS". MADRID NUEVO NORTE (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  7. "Madrid se prepara para construir el rascacielos más alto de Europa". libremercado.com (in Spanish). 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  8. "Madrid Nuevo Norte - Estación y transporte público". distritocastellananorte.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  9. "El reto de cubrir las vías de tren de Chamartín, una extensión 28 veces la superficie del estadio Bernabéu". elmundo.es (in Spanish). 18 February 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
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