Alicante plans to build 6,000 homes in the coming years, 2,500 of them at 'affordable prices'

The housing issue, especially for young people, is a widespread endemic problem throughout Spain. However, some areas are more strained than others, and Alicante is one of them. The city is very attractive, not only because of its location by the Mediterranean and its unparalleled climate (with 320 days of sunshine a year), but also for its quality of life.

Alicante grows at an average of 10,000 inhabitants annually, according to population studies included in the Structural General Plan (PGE). Two years ago, it surpassed Bilbao in the census, and by the end of 2024, there were 358,720 inhabitants, according to official population figures from the municipal register review published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) last December.

Population and Housing studies included in the Structural General Plan predict that Alicante will reach nearly half a million inhabitants by 2050.

Whether for economic reasons (digital nomads) or for retirees, many people decide to move to Alicante, further pressuring housing prices. Month by month, Alicante breaks records in home sales. In the province, the latest known data from March shows the highest figure for a March month with 4,664 home purchase transactions. This is the best March of the entire series since 2007, the year of the real estate bubble.

It is necessary, therefore, to adjust supply to demand to contain prices as much as possible. This is the strategy set by the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, in this legislature. Having crossed the halfway point of the two years, the goal of creating 6,000 new homes in the city remains in force. 40% of them will be 'at affordable prices', assures the mayor, as the Urban Planning Department includes the obligation to allocate this percentage to protected housing (with a set price).

These new apartments will come from both the development of new urban sectors, some pending for decades, and the rehabilitation and launch of public housing promotions by the Municipal Board.

As for the first ones, the two sectors that the City Council is currently planning are Lomas del Garbinet and the partial plan of La Albufereta. In total, 2,350 new apartments, of which 940 will be officially protected.

It is located behind the Juan XIII neighbourhood, next to another ongoing partial plan like Vistahermosa Norte. In total, this new neighbourhood will have a total area of 584,732 square meters, of which 457,950 square meters will be green infrastructure. This will mean the construction of 930 apartments, of which 403 will be Public Protection Housing (VPP), 40%.

The apartments will be distributed in open residential blocks and towers between 6 and 15 floors located in three residential blocks. In terms of services, the construction of a public school is also planned on a 5,527 square meter plot located next to the existing institute and facing the new Ronda Norte boulevard. This new external road will be executed between Barítono Paco Latorre and Cronista Vicente Martínez streets and will serve as a connection with adjacent neighbourhoods.

In addition to the new Ronda Norte, it is proposed to limit vehicular traffic to a secondary service road around the existing educational center. The rest of the connections will be pedestrian roads linking the boulevard with the residential blocks and the public park, supported by the currently existing network of paths. Additionally, the sector will feature a large public park with an area of 356,838 square meters, which will become one of the largest in Alicante.

This new neighbourhood will emerge with the development of the Albufereta Partial Plan, a project pending since 1991 and set to come to light 35 years later. It is located between Caja de Ahorros streets (extension of Vía Parque), Flora de España, and the Ingeniero Pedro Torres roundabout, on the other side of the Juncaret ravine. The Local Government Board will approve the integrated action program and the appointment of the urbanizing agent next Tuesday so that the works can begin next year.

In the first phase, the construction of 1,420 homes is planned, of which 147 will be officially protected (VPP) "thanks to the City Council using its land for this purpose, in a clear commitment to promoting affordable housing for all," explains the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala. The partial plan 1/4 Albufereta does not contemplate the construction of VPP, as at the time of its initial processing, the reservation of land for this purpose was not mandatory. However, the City Council has decided to compensate for this deficiency by ceding its development area in the sector.

The homes will be concentrated in the western area of the neighbourhood, away from the ravine and the BIC 'Cerro de las Balsas', where a large green area is planned to be developed later, and the archaeological site will be enhanced, completing this new neighbourhood of Alicante. A public facility is also planned in the area, yet to be defined, which will occupy an area of 10,000 square meters, along with a green area.

In addition to the urban development of new sectors, which will already include public housing, the other axis to bring apartments to the market consists of the promotion by public administrations. Firstly, the Alicante City Council has signed with the Generalitat to build 220 protected homes on five municipal plots: Jaume I Avenue and Padre Arrupe, Banda Los Claveles, Médico Ricardo Ferré, and Enfermera Angelina Ceballos streets.

The construction of the first affordable rental housing development of the Generalitat Valenciana's Plan Vive, in collaboration with the Alicante City Council, is already underway. The project is already in progress in the Rabasa neighbourhood for the construction of 34 semi-detached houses (two accessible) with high-quality finishes and high energy consumption reduction, interior garage, and common areas such as a sports court and rest area and children's area.

The homes will have a usable area of 90 square meters with a rental price well below market, starting at 580 euros per month, "and very high levels of quality and sustainability," according to Jeffrey Sújar, CEO of the construction company Urbania-Vivasal.

Additionally, there are those promoted by the Municipal Housing Board in 'El Portón' in the Old Town (15) expected to be completed this summer, another 14 in San Gabriel, and another 32 on Ceuta Street in San Blas, currently in the bidding process.