Lisbon City Council wants to build 27 affordable housing units on Estrada de Benfica for 5.29 ME – Portugal

The contract is planned for the building/land located at Estrada de Benfica, no. 410 to 416, where the aim is to “promote the rehabilitation of the existing building, as well as its interconnection with a new building, to be built, in a total of 27 fires”, reads the proposal signed by the councilor for Housing and Municipal Works, Filipa Roseta (PSD).

In a private meeting of the municipal executive, the proposal was approved by a majority, with the abstention of the councilors of Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) and the votes in favor of the rest, namely the PSD/CDS-PP, PS, leadership. PCP, Livre and BE, said a local source.

The proposal fits into the objective of increasing the supply of municipal units at affordable prices in the city center, which was defined as a priority by the current municipal executive, under the presidency of Carlos Moedas (PSD), through the Dispersed Building Intervention Plan ( PIED), which encompasses a set of properties owned by the Lisbon City Council (CML) “in different states of degradation and which, in this way, will be rehabilitated”.

At the beginning of the current mandate, in October 2021, the city of Lisbon had around 2,000 vacant homes, of which 1,400 were managed by the municipal company Gebalis and 600 were scattered municipal assets.

In the last two and a half years, the municipality has rehabilitated more than a thousand vacant homes, according to data from the municipality.

For the project on Estrada de Benfica, it is proposed the construction of a collective housing building with eight floors above ground, with 14 T2 dwellings and one T1 dwelling, and “the partial rehabilitation/reconstruction of the building with the .ºs 410-416, which will now have 12 dwellings (two T0 + 10 T1) and a store”, according to the proposal.

“The present intervention provides for a common entrance to both buildings (at the ground floor level), which has a covered semi-outdoor area and an uncovered outdoor area, and it is on this common ground floor that the technical areas and storage rooms are located. for all fractions, as well as a T1 type building”, states the document.

A basement is planned on the underground floor (common to both buildings), with 24 car parking spaces and technical areas, “maintaining the green area, currently existing at the back, as a green area with public access”.

The contracting of the project will be ensured “using a public tender”, which involves the appointment of a jury, which will be chaired by the director of the Municipal Housing Department of the Municipal Directorate of Maintenance and Conservation, João Vargas.

The base price of the project is 4,999,033.43 euros, to which is added the value of VAT at the legal rate of 6%, in the amount of 299,942.01 euros, “making the total amount of 5,298,975.44 euros”, according to the proposal of the Housing councilor, indicating that this amount is spread over the financial years 2024, 2025 and 2026.

“The deadline for carrying out the work is 610 days, with a minimum of 550 days, plus 365 days for the maintenance of green spaces”, informs the document.

Justifying the vote of abstention, the Citizens for Lisbon council said that the project presented “is no longer suitable”, because it could make more houses available.

Currently, the executive of the Lisbon Chamber, which is made up of 17 members, includes seven elected members of the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) — who are the only ones with assigned responsibilities and who govern without an absolute majority –, three from the PS, two from the PCP, three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.