It is one of the great rehabilitation projects of the heritage of Santa Cruz, to value the San Andres Castle and its surroundings, with a large pedestrian promenade and an interpretation center. After a contest of ideas, the proposal called S, M, L, XL, from the UTE Arocha Díaz Uriarte was chosen to transform the concept of the tower as we know it today.
This proposal had to be turned into a work project, the same one that has already been delivered to the Santa Cruz City Council and which details that, given the scale of the intervention and the urban problems to develop one of the parts, it has been decided to divide it into two phases. Thus, the first, the consolidation of the Castle and redevelopment of its surroundings, will have a base budget of 1.8 million, while the second, the development of the Interpretation Center and adjacent pedestrian and garden area, will have a cost of just over three million. The total cost of the intervention will be almost five million.
The proposal raised in the project is based on the consolidation and restoration of the Castle, the construction of a new building for the Monument Interpretation Center and the adaptation of its entire environment to transform it into a public space for the enhancement of this Well of Cultural Interest and the enjoyment of citizenship.
As explained in the project, to which he has had access NOTICE DIARYaccess to the new Interpretation Center will be made from the ground level of the square generated in the surroundings of the Castle and its roof will be integrated into another public space at a higher level, parallel to the new connection road between the nucleus of San Andrés and Las Teresitas beach that extends the TF-11.
As detailed, the construction of the Interpretation Center is conditioned by the execution and management of this road, which in turn depends on the drafting of the urban development document for the area of unconsolidated urban land in which it is located, and which does not is other than the Special Plan of the Teresitas.
This is the main reason why the proposal was divided into two drafting phases, depending on the urban viability for its execution and in order to guarantee the rehabilitation of the castle and the enhancement of its protection environment while the issues are resolved. urban perspectives that condition the construction of the rest of the actions covered by the Project.
Phase 1
In this phase, the restoration and consolidation of the Tower is addressed to guarantee its conservation. A square is proposed that surrounds it and that will serve as a space for its contemplation and for the recreation and enjoyment of the citizenry.
This public space has been designed with accessibility criteria, giving priority to pedestrian use to recover the protection environment of the Tower, which is currently occupied by vehicular traffic, parking areas and the old sewage pumping station and pipes of the zone. In any case, a perimeter road with restricted access for the use of residents will be maintained.
Phase 2
In this phase, the construction of the Castle Interpretation Center will be carried out, configured by a semi-buried building and linked to the perimeter plaza of the Monument executed in Phase 1 and which is conceived as a covered extension of the plaza. This building is planned as a center that, in addition to being used for the interpretation of the BIC, may house neighborhood, cultural and public interest activities for the area. The interior spaces of the building that make up its exhibition rooms reproduce in their interior volume the original dimensions of the rooms of the old Tower, many of them missing, thus allowing us to perceive the original conception of these spaces. In this phase, the adaptation of the rest of the outdoor spaces in the area will also be carried out, improving the pedestrian connections between the surroundings of the ravine, Avenida Marítima and Avenida Pedro Schwartz.
Transformation of the Castle of San Andrés
The mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, pointed out that the drafting of the rehabilitation project around the Castillo de San Andrés “is in line with the objective that we have set ourselves to value the historical heritage of this capital. It is about generating and recovering spaces that can become elements of revitalization and sources of attraction for visitors and residents”. He added that “its rehabilitation, together with the redevelopment of El Dique street, will transform the seafront of San Andrés and turn it into an incentive for tourist and commercial revitalization of this town in the capital.”
For his part, the mayor of Infrastructure, Dámaso Arteaga, already pointed out when the winning project was announced that the execution will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Feder) and has more than one million euros.
