Palma plans redesign around the Gesa building - redevelopment with question marks

Palma plans redesign around the Gesa building - redevelopment with question marks

Palma's city hall has launched an ideas competition for the area around the Gesa building. Architectural firms can submit designs until April 1. The city estimates around €91 million for the overall project; €40 million of that is earmarked for the restoration of the Gesa building. Plans also include two new underground structures, a parking garage with 700 spaces, new green areas and the lowering of a road towards the Paseo Marítimo. The Gesa building itself is intended to house exhibition spaces in the future.

Key question

Who will pay for the redevelopment, and who will truly benefit from it? That is the core question that will decide the success or failure of this project.

Critical analysis

€91 million is not a small budget for an inner-city project. The proposed items — €40 million for the renovation of the existing building, underground constructions and a large parking garage — raise several issues. First: a parking garage with 700 spaces suggests the city continues to rely on car access instead of encouraging a shift in mobility. Second: underground structures near the coast require robust studies on groundwater levels, drainage and future sea-level risks. Third: lowering a road is an intervention that will change noise, air and traffic flows — without detailed compensatory plans for public transport, pedestrian and cycle routes this is only half a job.

What is missing from the public debate

So far, announcements have lacked engagement with everyday concerns: Will the garage actually reduce commuter traffic or just attract additional traffic? What costs might arise from construction delays or geological surprises? How will residents and businesses be involved in the planning phase? And finally: is there a climate impact assessment for the underground structures and the road lowering?

An everyday scene from Palma

In the early morning, when market vendors move their crates along the Passeig Marítim, you hear the clatter of handcarts, the clinking of coffee cups on terraces and the occasional squawking of seagulls. Delivery vans look for parking spots, cyclists zoom by, and taxi drivers stop at the curb to unload briefly. Right here - between sidewalk, café and harbour bustle - construction noise and detours will become noticeable. For many people the question is not theoretical but: how will I get to work tomorrow without losing ten extra minutes in traffic every day?

Concrete solutions

1) Rethink parking: instead of 700 new spaces, a flexible concept should be considered — for example fewer permanent parking spaces, more bike and e-charging infrastructure, and park & ride on the city outskirts. 2) Make environmental and groundwater studies mandatory before any earthworks begin. 3) Tie in a mobility plan: expansion of bus services, safe cycle lanes and attractive pedestrian connections to the Paseo Marítimo must be part of the competition brief. 4) Strengthen participation: time windows for citizen workshops, binding feedback loops and transparent cost plans. 5) Construction-phased planning: to disturb businesses and market life as little as possible, sites should be organized in stages with clear diversion routes.

Concise conclusion

The opportunity to upgrade the Gesa area is real — but the plan still smells of old thinking: a lot of concrete, lots of parking, few answers to mobility and climate questions. If Palma opts for a gradual, participatory process with clear environmental assessments and a reduction of the car focus instead of quick fixes, the project could become a place for culture, green space and quality public life — and not just another parking garage by the sea.