The mobilization stems from a group of around 40 neighbors who, for weeks, have been resisting these apartments. Construction is nearing completion, located on the ground floors and inner courtyard of the buildings where they live. Residents believe this project contributes to the "touristification of the neighborhood" and the "loss of identity and traditional commerce".
The project, promoted by the company Marina Nou Fontana, involves the creation of 15 apartments. Initially, the company applied for a tourist use license, but the application was affected by the municipal moratorium limiting such authorizations, leading to its suspension. Following this, the company reoriented the project and submitted a responsible declaration to fit the development as a community residential use, known as coliving.
This typology is proposed as medium-stay accommodation, from 11 days, with common spaces shared among users, including a swimming pool currently being built in the central courtyard of the block. The construction of this pool sparked the first mobilization of residents, who opposed a large crane flying a heavy prefabricated pool over the rooftops of their homes. They eventually managed to stop the installation of the prefabricated pool, which, according to residents, has now been built on-site.
In addition to this incident, the conflict between residents and the company has escalated throughout the construction. Residents report that the construction company carried out pipe installations through the communal garage without the authorization of the homeowners' association. They claim that "they forced the door to access the garage to carry out this intervention after we expressly prohibited them at the previous day's owners' meeting".
“"We are afraid that Patraix will follow the path of other neighborhoods like Russafa, El Carme, or El Cabanyal, where the rise of tourist apartments and similar formulas has transformed the social and commercial fabric."
The organizers are framing the April 23 concentration as a new display of neighborhood rejection of this specific project and as a warning about the impact of such projects on the city's residential neighborhoods. This case is part of a growing sensitivity surrounding the debate on touristification and the housing crisis, where neighborhood movements against tourist or short-stay accommodation projects are multiplying.
