Almost 10,000 square meters. This is the space for recreational and leisure use that the Port of Santa Cruz will activate on the Santa Cruz seafront through the Project promoted by the capital’s Port Authority to build a new sports marina, and which is already in bidding in the form of an administrative concession, that is, construction and exploitation of this space. These are land and water areas within the scope of the functional area of the connection pier in the Dársena de los Llanos, for the construction and subsequent operation of a nautical-sports marina located between the central dock and the mouth of the Santos ravine, as well as commercial and parking areas included in the same area for its exploitation.
This administrative concession amounts to 16 million euros, as stated in the tender specifications, published in the profile of the contracting party of the Port of the capital. Thus, according to the aforementioned specifications, the construction of the marina will entail the putting into use of a land area of 6,731.32 square meters that will have a cultural, recreational, maintenance, commercial, hotel and/or restaurant use, which will be exploited privately the successful bidder.
To this first space will be added a little more than 4,000 square meters for public use and free access, that is, without any kind of restrictions for the residents of Santa Cruz. Thus, this area will be divided into an area on land where there will be a square and promenades, which will be located to the south of the nautical-sports plot with an extension of 3,261.54 square meters, which the concessionaire must develop, although it will be of free access and public use. The concessionaire may use up to a maximum of 10% of the surface for the location of sales stalls, kiosks and terraces or a combination of both.
The other area of public access will also have a square and promenades, in this case located to the north of the nautical-sports plot, of 740.63 square meters, and which, as in the previous case, the concessionaire must develop, being able to take advantage of up to a maximum of 10% of the surface for the location of stalls, kiosks and terraces or a combination of both.
buildability
The specifications establish that the recreational area, but also the other uses, must comply with the urban planning contained in the Special Plan of the Port. Thus, in this space, the maximum buildable area will be 3,200 square meters, in buildings that can be built up to three floors, with a maximum height of 14 meters. In this case, the minimum number of car parks must be one hundred, while the opening and closing hours of this space may not exceed the limits set forth in the municipal ordinances and must be respectful of the rest of the users of the marinas and other concessions located in the surroundings. The use of the premises located in this space for discotheques or similar is prohibited.
In the free access areas, it is clearly established that the concessionaire will not have any type of private use right.
In the 10% of the surface that the successful bidder can have, he can install light and easily removable buildings of up to 30 square meters and 5 meters high (one floor) for cultural or recreational use and even commercial or hotel/restaurant use. in the category of stalls or kiosks and terraces.
The specifications also provide for provisional pedestrian access until the work on the port-city link designed by Herzog & De Meuron is completed. Thus, they detail that, in the Special plan of the Port, to the north of the recreational area, a square is included that is arranged as an inclined slab that will guarantee the continuity between the Plaza de España and the port platform object of the specification and under the an underground car park with 900 rotating spaces that are not the object of the competition will be located. In view of the foregoing, the specifications state that it will be necessary to create a provisional access, which the successful bidder must take care of.
a protective dam
The work carried out to execute the new sports marina also involves the construction of a protection dike against hauling. Thus, it is detailed that, given the presence of the mouth of the Santos ravine on the southern limit of the land spaces that are subject to the concession, it will be necessary for the bidder to include in his project the design of a dike within the area indicated in the plans as an area of possible fills.
The functions of this dam will be to protect the sports basin from the accumulation of haulage that could be caused as a consequence of the floods that occur in the ravine, and from the impact that the runoff waters with suspended solids could cause to the boats. In addition, it will serve to mitigate the agitation coming from both the traffic operating south of the Los Llanos dock and the waves coming from the south.
Regarding the physical characteristics, this breakwater must be projected as a vertical breakwater at least on its southern side and on the nose of the breakwater, guaranteeing a minimum draft of 6 meters with respect to the port zero.
The concessionaire may exploit the berths on both sides of the quay (in no case the nose, since it would invade the navigation channel) being included in the surface of the sheet of water to be granted a strip of 20 meters wide along the entire length of the dock for its south side.
This breakwater will have a minimum width of 8 meters at the crest, which must always be left free to allow both maintenance and to attend to possible emergencies that may arise. This minimum width, at the discretion of the bidder, may be increased (to the detriment of the sheet of water) but always within the limits indicated on the plans.
Deadlines
The maximum period of execution of the works may not exceed 24 months, according to the Port Authority. In addition, it is specified that the project that is presented must be adapted to the set of areas included in the area under tender, “should result in an operational complex, aesthetically and architecturally in harmony with the environment”. Proposals that do not reach at least 50% of the score in this aspect will be automatically discarded. Regarding the occupancy rates that the entity that is awarded the marina must pay, according to the estimate made by the Port, this would be around 169,000 euros per year. The bidder may exploit, in addition to the nautical-sports area, the recreational area and 10% of free access.
A project that deepens the opening of the city to the sea
The Board of Directors of the Port Authority approved the specifications for this new marina last December. Then, the president of the Port Authority, Carlos González, expressed his “satisfaction for launching this new initiative that will not only promote nautical activity in our port, with the consequent generation of greater economic activity for the capital, but also, in line with our roadmap, it represents a firm and feasible commitment to the advance of the city towards the sea”.
