The city council of Torrevieja (Alicante) gives the green light for construction of 18 skyscrapers of up to 29 floors. All towers are directly on the seafront and intended for living, working and tourist rental.
This will change the skyline of Torrevieja forever. Currently, the municipality has no more than six blocks that are higher than six floors. There are a number of conditions attached to the construction of the new skyscrapers. For example, the towers may not shade the beach in front. The entire construction project still requires approval by the regional board.
Resistance among the local population
Two of the eighteen towers have 26 floors and are 82 meters high. These giants will be located in the centre of the city, next to the Doña Sinforosa park. This caused resistance from both the residents of Torrevieja and the opposition in the municipal administration. 130 houses and 250 tourist apartments are in these towers, all with a sea view.
According to the plan, Acequión beach will have the three highest skyscrapers (29 floors), two of which will be for residential purposes and one tower will become a hotel. A little further to the north, at the inlet of Palangre, four skyscrapers are being built that will also reach a maximum height of 29 floors and are also partly intended for tourism.
Change in city plan makes construction of skyscrapers possible
The construction of the skyscrapers is possible because the urban planning plan from 1987 has changed on a number of points with the approval of the regional council. The original plan stated new buildings may be a maximum of six storeys high. Now this restriction has lapsed and the way cleared for high-rise buildings in the municipality of Torrevieja.
The mayor of Torrevieja assures opponents of the high-rise the towers will not radically change the city. According to the mayor, 40% of the new spaces are intended for tourism in the higher segment. At the moment, the municipality has only 13 hotels. Construction of the skyscrapers should stimulate tourism in the city.
No further expansion of high-rise buildings
Furthermore, the mayor announced that in the future there will be further construction on urbanisations with homes of no more than two floors. “The skyscraper project will not have a follow-up,” he assured. For example, Torrevieja will not become a carbon-copy of Benidorm, though they will complement each other and become the tourist heart of the Costa Blanca.
