Florence, the 'Lupi di Toscana' project for social housing kicks off

The Abitaequo fund, managed by Investire SGR, has been awarded the surface right to the former Lupi di Toscana barracks in Florence, on which a social housing project is to be built to provide 236 dwellings. The announcement was made today at Palazzo Vecchio during an event attended by the mayor Sara Funaro, the chairman of Fondazione CR Firenze Bernabò Bocca, the director of CDP Real Asset SGR's Housing and Regeneration Funds, Filippo Catena, and Investire SGR's head of Residential & Social Infrastructure, Paolo Boleso.

The planned investment for the development of the social housing project in the former Lupi di Toscana barracks is approximately 55 million euro, of which 35 million from the National Housing Fund (CDP Real Asset SGR), 15 million from Fondazione CR Firenze, and 4 million from the development of municipal areas. In addition to developing the 236 dwellings, the Abitaequo fund also undertakes to carry out, at its own expense, the primary urbanisation works, including the cycle/pedestrian path connecting viale Nenni and the Palazzina Comando, a new urban square, and the secondary urbanisation works, including the urban vegetable gardens, the south-west park, as well as the 0-6 year-old educational space that will be located in one of the existing buildings on either side of the former Palazzina Comando, s at the entrance. The dwellings will be located on the north side of the future central boulevard of the entire new development, and will have a balanced mix of two-, three- and four-room apartments, equipped with a garage and cellar. The duration of the Abitaequo fund is 20 years, a period that includes authorisation and construction, with a minimum 15-year lease, at subsidised rents. At the end, the municipal administration reserves the right to exercise the right of pre-emption on the future sale of the housing, should the tenants fail to exercise it. For the city, this is an important step forward in the return of spaces within a project that envisages a mix of functions for the community, with great attention to the theme of housing and greenery.

"The Lupi di Toscana project is first and foremost a project for the regeneration of a place that has been abandoned for too many years, which with this initiative is given back to the city for social purposes, which is why our Foundation is fully committed, together with CDP RA and Investire SGR," emphasises Bernabò Bocca, chairman of Fondazione CR Firenze. "Once the reclamation and reconstruction work has been completed, we can generate a concrete impact, easily measurable, to the benefit of the 236 families that will be able to access the flats. We estimate, on the basis of current values, that each flat will be able to generate benefits of over 7,000 euro/year, or 1.7 million euro/year in savings on the normal rents charged for housing in that area. This is the real reason why we invested EUR 15 million in the project. For years the future of this area has been debated, today Florence has a concrete opportunity to see a strategic place in the city reborn. The Fondazione CR Firenze, as already happened for Villa Monna Tessa and for the investments of the Tuscan Housing Fund, has played the role of sentinel in the area, capable of connecting large national investors with real local needs. We have attracted patient capital, generating a significant and lasting leverage effect'.

The third and final phase of demolition by the municipality will start next Monday, 9 March, while according to the timetable the construction site for social housing is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2027. The taxable rent is set at 8 euro per square metre per month - this means that for an average flat of 75 square metres the rent will be around 600 euro per month, plus accessory charges and taxes. The selection of households benefiting from social housing will take place through special calls for applications that will take into account the allocation conditions set out in the social convention stipulated between the municipality and the Abitaequo fund.