The mayor of Vila-real, José Benlloch, has overseen the demolition works of existing buildings on the land of the former Dolores García Foundation. These plots were acquired by Villarreal CF in 2023, coinciding with the club's centenary, as part of an agreement with the City Council to transfer them to the Generalitat Valenciana with the aim of creating a future socio-health island.
Currently, Villarreal CF is carrying out the works agreed upon with the mayor's office. Once the ruined constructions have been demolished and the plot conditioned, the City Council will be able to accept the donation of the surface and incorporate it into municipal heritage. After these tasks are completed, the space will be provisionally used as public parking, offering around 150 spaces in a strategic and highly transited point of the city, located at the intersection of Ermita Street and Cordón Street.
This initiative responds to a historical demand for parking spaces in an area that concentrates numerous services and facilities, such as a health center, the Post Office, educational centers, supermarkets, and the La Cerámica stadium. The parking lot will be public and is proposed as a temporary solution while the definitive future of the plot is unlocked, a 7,500 square meter parcel that was initially planned to house a socio-health complex, an action whose competence corresponds to the regional administration.
“"We could not continue to leave this enclave unused, and until the socio-health project is activated, the plot will remain at the service of the neighborhood as public parking."
In this context, José Benlloch has expressed his concern about the paralysis of the Convivint Plan after the change in the Valencian Government. This project, promoted during the Botànic stage, contemplated in this space the construction of a residence for people with intellectual disabilities, an occupational center, a space for activities of the Ateneu association, intended for people with acquired brain injury, and modules for students of the special education school La Panderola.
The mayor has emphasized that this intervention will not only improve mobility and facilitate parking in a high-traffic area but will also contribute to improving the health and urban image of the surroundings. The action will prevent the degradation of a space that had been unused for some time and will open up a functional alternative for residents and users of the services concentrated in this area of Vila-real.
