24 expressions of interest ready for Milan's housing plan
A boom in proposals for the first exploratory notices, especially from the cooperative world. Awarding by the end of the year
by Sara Monaci
3' min read
3' min read
Twenty-four expressions of interest have been sent to the Milan City Council for the implementation of the Extraordinary Housing Plan, which bears the 'initial' signature of former councillor Guido Bardelli (who resigned after just a few months) and is now being continued by budget and heritage councillor Emmanuel Conte, who inherited it. It is a plan that has a long reach: the construction of 10,000 homes to be rented at subsidised prices to be built over the next 10 years, 6,500 of which in Milan and 3,500 in neighbouring areas. This starts with the first neighbourhoods, relating to the first two municipal notices.
The proposals in the first exploratory notice, published on 16 December, are: seven expressions of interest for the area of via Sant'Elia 33 (former Palasharp), five for Porto di Mare, four for via Demostene, and three for via San Romanello. As for the compendiums of the second notice, opened on 27 February, there are: two expressions of interest for the via Bovisasca area, as many for Pompeo Leoni and one for via Pitagora. The area of via Medici del Vascello received no proposals.
The areas on which bids were submitted have a total size of 193,000 square metres.
The plan is broader and is divided into two fronts: the redevelopment of public residential housing, the so-called public housing, for which the municipality is seeking resources for maintenance (and for which national calls for funding are planned, but also possible rationalisation and sales); the development of housing under the social housing scheme (Ersc), i.e. permanently rented housing with rents not exceeding 80 euro per square metre per year, so as to meet the housing needs of the middle class of the population, with incomes between 1.500 and 2,500 euro per month.
For now, as mentioned, we are talking about expressions of interest, mainly from the cooperative world. Among the participants is Uniabita, the main housing cooperative. "The Piano Casa finally represents a concrete attempt to address the now structural issue of rent costs and housing affordability for many working families. Indivisible ownership, with its long history and solidity, has already proved to be a viable model: today the Housing Plan raises the challenge of making it viable again. As a cooperative of inhabitants, we have presented proposals and are ready to sit down at the table with the Milan municipal administration to build effective and feasible solutions together,' says President Pierpaolo Forello.
