The Santa Cruz City Council, through the Municipal Housing area directed by Juan José Martínez, proceeded last Monday to formalize the request for a grant of 37.5 million euros to the Government of the Canary Islands for the construction of 343 properties for to vulnerable people and families in the municipality, “since, according to the regional Administration itself, it is the most agile way to have the funds that make it possible to start the construction of these houses as soon as possible”, according to what the mayor of the city highlighted yesterday , Jose Manuel Bermudez.
“After waiting more than a year for the signing of the agreement to make it possible for the procedures to begin the construction of these homes, so necessary for the most vulnerable residents of Santa Cruz, the regional Administration itself tells us that it is the fastest formula to have the economic resources”, said the councilor. In addition, he added that “this is another important step in the determined commitment of this government team in the Housing area, in which we have committed to managing more than 92.5 million euros until 2026.”
Juan José Martínez, for his part, explained that “the request for a subsidy, formalized on Monday, of more than 37.5 million euros for the construction of at least 343 homes are those assigned by the Canary Islands Housing Plan to Santa Cross”. Likewise, he pointed out, “without prejudice to the fact that the intention of the City Council is to maximize the number of properties to be built in the projects, taking into account that we plan to even exceed the total of 390 homes, a figure that would be the result of those projected in the areas of Cuevas Blancas (270), María Jiménez (37) and La Monja (86)”.
“This request for a subsidy -explained the Councilor for Municipal Housing- replaces the initial idea of signing an agreement with the Government of the Canary Islands, since this administration considers that this is a better formula”. In turn, he recalled that “we had been waiting for the agreement for more than a year and a half for regional financing to become feasible.” Although he stressed that “this has not prevented the Santa Cruz City Council from initiating all the necessary procedures, such as the award of the drafting of the Cuevas Blancas and María Jiménez projects for around 580,000 euros.”
“In addition, the awarding of the urbanization and reparcelling projects of the plots of the La Monja ravine has already been carried out, which will be the third location where the properties contemplated in the Canary Islands Housing Plan will be built,” said Martínez.
The councilor emphasized that “this specific initiative adds to the commitment of this government team to housing, the main political investment axis, by far, of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, which only in this coming year 2023 foresees the investment of more than 14 million euros in this area”.
Rehabilitation
Finally, Martínez pointed out that, “in addition to the investment amount for the next year in terms of housing, the City Council has planned actions that have to do with the rehabilitation of buildings in all districts of the city and the construction of new homes in the town”.
The mayor of Santa Cruz clarified that, “whether through initiatives with the economic participation of the Ministry of Housing or through European Next Generation funds, the reality is that Santa Cruz will manage more than 92 million euros in four years in this area that It is an indisputable priority for this municipality.”
In this sense, it should be remembered that, at the end of last month, the Santa Cruz City Council proceeded to sign the property deeds of the first 24 residents of the houses in the La Candelaria neighborhood, to which there are to add the 44 homes delivered also recently in El Tablero.
