The Santa Cruz City Council will oversee a construction project this year for the development of 60 new units under an affordable rental scheme, which are planned to be situated in the South or Southwest District, according to the Councillor for Municipal Housing, Belén Mesa. The aim of this initiative is to expand the public municipal housing stock and help mitigate the housing crisis that the capital is currently experiencing, which, furthermore, a recent report compiled by the Council indicates that there are areas of tension.
With this new development, integrated into the Canary Housing Plan, where the City Council provides land at no cost, a total of 343 rental properties will be made available in Santa Cruz, with an allocation of 44 million euros for these actions.
Consequently, the 60 new flats will be added to the 37 homes already under construction in María Jiménez, at a cost of 4.4 million euros and with an expected completion time of 16 months. This is alongside 226 units in Cuevas Blancas, for which the tender is about to be awarded for 31.5 million; and 20 units in Valseco, purchased for 3.4 million euros under a key concept, which are anticipated to be ready before summer.
The mayor explained that the allocation process for these new social homes, with rents around 400 euros, will be conducted through a lottery among the applicants for public housing in the capital, which exceeds 3,000 individuals. Additionally, he noted that for the 60 new homes, once construction is completed, “more will be allocated to young people than to large families, due to the available square footage.”
He further stated that “the goal of the Council is to address the housing needs in Santa Cruz, so we are not ruling out purchasing finished buildings and are also seeking public-private partnerships to expand the municipal housing stock.”
Budget
The Councillor highlighted this initiative during the budget presentation for the area, which totals 11.8 million euros for 2025, and which includes extended programmes and projects that are still ongoing. The overall amount, according to the mayor, “is 101.4 million euros across multiple projects.” In this context, in addition to the expansion of the Municipal Housing Stock, funds are allocated for the Residential Programmed Rehabilitation Environments (ERP), with a budget of 13 million euros for refurbishing 381 homes in Añaza; an additional 4.6 million euros for 140 units in Añaza II; and 9.7 million euros for 292 in La Gladiolas. The redevelopment efforts are scheduled to be executed before June 30.
Other forthcoming initiatives will concentrate on urban regeneration and renewal (depreciated areas), for which 28.8 million euros will be invested in order to renovate 1,568 older and deteriorated homes in Santa Cruz. This year, Mesa stated, “work will commence on 26 buildings, and tenders will be issued for another 32 buildings, predominantly in Sanidad, La Gladiolas, Miramar, Ofra, and García Escámez.”
For the maintenance and improvement of the Municipal Park, comprising 1,556 properties, the Council will allocate one million euros in 2025.
