The Community of Madrid will sell, among other properties, the controversial luxury penthouse acquired in Chamberí to house temporary “offices,” with the aim of “increasing the budget allocated to the reconstruction of the Western Sierra after the fire.” The operation will generate income, among the various apartments sold, of about 20 million euros, according to the regional government’s calculations.
A move that comes hours after suspicions intensified over the acquisition of this property, a penthouse of almost 500 square meters in one of the most luxurious areas of Madrid, for residential use and with practically no possibility of being converted into an office. The Madrid Administration justifies the purchase as a provisional relocation of offices due to the works to which the Royal House of the Post Office, the seat of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, will be subjected.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso herself explained on Wednesday that it had not yet been decided whether she would move to this penthouse, located on General Martínez Campos promenade, or if she would move with her team to the building of another department, which would require the relocation of the counselor’s department to the controversial property. In the end, none of these circumstances will occur, as the Community of Madrid has decided to get rid of the apartment a few months after acquiring it.
Explanations in any case that do not calm the criticisms from the left, which denounces the “contradictions” and lack of transparency surrounding this story: why the Community bought and did not rent a space if it was going to be used temporarily, why none of the unused offices available to the regional Administration were chosen, and above all, what was the purchase price of this luxury penthouse.
What is now known is the estimate that the regional government makes of the sale of this and four other properties in different parts of the capital: about 20 million euros. The Community specifically mentions, besides the one on Martínez Campos, another property on Gran Vía.
Heritage that the Madrid Administration will now sell to “increase the budget” for reconstruction after the serious fire that continues to affect the Northern Sierra and for which precisely this Wednesday the Community of Madrid approved an extraordinary package of measures close to 100 million euros.
