The transformation of the former holiday residence in Marbella (Málaga) into a hotel complex will generate annual income of at least four million euros for the Junta de Andalucía through the exploitation fee. As part of the strategy developed by the General Directorate of Heritage to promote the enhancement of unused or underutilized public heritage, the Minister of Economy, Finance, and European Funds, Carolina España, and the Mayor of Marbella, María Ángeles Muñoz, signed a heritage and urban collaboration agreement last February to promote the urban change that will revitalize and put to use the former holiday residence as a hotel complex.
The territorial delegate of the Council, Antonio García Acedo, emphasized that this operation will allocate more than four million euros «to finance essential public services for the Andalusian citizens. For healthcare, education, dependency care, roads, and more.»
«It makes no sense to keep the parcel and building of the former holiday residence unused, paying for their maintenance costs,» said the territorial delegate. «However, this agreement with the Marbella City Council will give it a new purpose, generating employment for the area, bringing new wealth to Marbella, Málaga, and Andalucía, and allowing to increase the budget allocated to public services by at least four million euros.»
In fact, García Acedo also recalled that «there is already a precedent for the transformation of an old holiday residence into a hotel, as in Cádiz, successfully converted into a 4-star commercial and hotel complex by the Q-Hotels company, employing around five hundred people.»
The agreement signed between the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and European Funds and the Marbella City Council allows the Junta to maintain ownership of the property, which will be awarded through the General Directorate of Heritage via a competitive procedure with transparency and publicity for the surface rights exploitation for a period of 75 years.
Through this formula, the regional government retains ownership of the property, establishing a set of obligations for the awardee, who will be required to make a series of investments in the initial years after the award, aimed at ensuring the successful exploitation and protection of Andalusian historical heritage.
Development Study in progress
The Marbella Holiday Residence, located on the Mediterranean Highway in Marbella, occupies an area of nearly 197,502 square meters of land, with a current built area of 23,395 square meters. The complex is listed in the Andalusian General Catalog of Historical Heritage, and the agreement stipulates that any urban development carried out will fully comply with this listing.
The contracts include the obligation of the awardee to comply with the regulations regarding the protection of Andalusian Historical Heritage, with its non-compliance expressly stated as a cause for termination. In addition, they include a research study conducted by the Department of History, Theory, and Architectural Composition, as well as the favorable report from the Territorial Delegation of Culture in Málaga.
The Development Study promoted by the Junta de Andalucía, which proposes to change the current urban classification of the land from general equipment system to hotel equipment, is currently under review by the Marbella City Council.
Holiday Residences
The Andalusian Government Council decided in November 2023 to discontinue the holiday residence service, due to its high deficit (since 2015, it has cost the Andalusian coffers 140 million euros and only generated revenues of 16 million euros), as it does not constitute an essential public service and its original social purpose (offering affordable holiday stays to workers and their families) had disappeared, due to the improved economic and social situation experienced by Andalusian society.
In fact, in 2022, the 85,575 stays recorded in the Andalusian holiday residences represented 0.07% of the total overnight stays made in Andalusia by Andalusian citizens, which, according to the INE’s National Survey of Residents’ Tourism, reached the figure of 117.8 million.
The change in urban classification of the land of the former Marbella holiday residence is not the only one being promoted by the Junta de Andalucía, to once again make use of plots that, with their current urban classification, mostly designated for public uses, are useless in meeting current needs.
These actions are part of the strategy developed by the General Directorate of Heritage of the Junta de Andalucía since 2019 to put unused or underutilized heritage into use and, thereby, generate savings and income.
