Montjuïc mountain is about to undergo one of the most ambitious urban transformations of recent years. What until now was mostly known as a trade fair area, especially around the Plaça de l’Univers, will become a new residential and equipment area integrated into Poble-sec, a neighborhood that will see its public housing stock and its social and cultural facilities grow.
The Barcelona City Council has taken a step forward with the approval of the Special Urban Development and Urban Improvement Plan, which outlines a future where 48% of the current fairground will be destined for public use, according to the consistory, and with a forecast that points to the completion of most of the project by 2033. With a budget of more than 90 million euros, this action not only seeks to integrate the Fira into the city, but also to consolidate Montjuïc as a green lung and a new metropolitan axis.
More than 500 public apartments in Poble-Sec
At the heart of this metamorphosis is the creation of a new residential fabric that will provide a total of 548 public housing units, of which 500 will be affordable housing units and 48 will be for public housing, increasing the city’s public housing stock by 4.2%.
This new area will be distributed in three closed blocks next to the Plaça de l’Univers, and will generate a central open space of 2,400 m² (a size similar to the characteristic squares of Poble-sec) and an adjoining small square of 800 m². The aim is for these new spaces to act as a meeting point and articulation between future homes and the new proximity facilities.
In terms of facilities, the project promotes an important network of services with 18,400 m² of roof space for various uses. Among the most outstanding new features are the construction of a new Primary Care Center (CAP) with access from Carrer de Lleida, the expansion of the Espai Bombers and the courtyard of the Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer School. In addition, Pavilion 2 will be recovered to house a sports pavilion, a measure that responds to a historical demand of the neighborhood and that, as advanced at the time, could be ready before 2033, towards the end of 2026.
7,000 m2 of green space in the city
One of the central axes of the project is the incorporation of nearly 7,000 m2 of new green spaces. These areas, designed with climate comfort and universal accessibility criteria in mind, will include abundant vegetation, shade, street furniture and children’s playgrounds, providing a new lung for the area. A transversal civic route will also be created to improve connectivity on foot, linking Carrer de Lleida with Carrer de la Guàrdia Urbana.
The transformation of Montjuïc is not limited to new construction. A special plan has also been approved to promote the rehabilitation of the emblematic Alfonso XIII Palace and Victoria Eugenia Palace, buildings designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch around 1920 and which are Cultural Assets of Local Interest (BCIL). This remodeling, together with the plans for the Vestit Pavilion and the Multifunctional Pavilion, seeks to adapt the uses to the new needs of the Fira de Barcelona without neglecting the preservation of the heritage.
Work for this first phase of renovation of the fairgrounds will begin in early 2026 and is scheduled to be completed in 2029, just in time to commemorate the centenary of the 1929 International Exposition, a key event in the history of the Fira and the city. This transformation will not only bring housing and facilities, but will also redefine the Paral-lel-Montjuïc axis, seeking greater social cohesion and better integration between the mountain neighborhoods and the rest of Barcelona.