Benavente City Council takes administrative possession of an old shopping center to transform it into housing

At the last council meeting, the Benavente City Council approved an amendment to the Municipal Master Plan, which begins the administrative takeover of an old shopping center, next to Arneiro dos Corvos, in Samora Correia, with the aim of transforming the space into a housing area.

Carlos Coutinho, Mayor of Benavente said that the municipality will soon begin the process of expropriating the stores, in order to be able to take possession of the entire building where it estimates it will be able to build “between 20 and 30 housing units”.

The mayor highlighted that the expropriation process is being accepted by the majority of owners, who are freeing themselves from a building that is only used to pay IMI.

Carlos Coutinho clarified that despite having been operating as a shopping center, the building never had a license for use. “There was even a cinema that never worked,” he said.

“The interior of the stores is completely destroyed”, says the mayor, who highlights that “this is also a way of ending a “cancer” in the city of Samora Correia, thus allowing the accommodation of many families.

This building is part of the housing strategy of the Municipality of Benavente.

Photo: Google Maps