Milan’s ‘Piano Casa’ scheme: a second extension is on the way. The challenges faced by operators
Some co-operatives are asking for more time to draw up a proposal. The terms of the call for tenders remain unchanged for the time being, although the market considers them too rigid. The deadline is 26 October.
Operators are continuing to press for progress on the ‘Casa di Milano’ scheme. Over the summer, potential bidders requested more time to draw up proposals, which proved complicated given the parameters set. The City Council has therefore decided to extend – for the second time – the call for tenders for the construction of the first 2,500 new affordable rental homes in the areas of the former Palasharp, San Romanello and Bovisasca, designed for those on incomes ranging from 1,200 to 2,000, which are too high to qualify for social housing but too low to access the private market. The call for tenders will close on 26 October. The project forms part of a wider plan presented a couple of years ago, which aims to build 10,000 homes in Milan over 10 years (representing a total investment of 10 billion). However, the market response has not been enthusiastic so far: the first calls for tenders received no bids (except for the one in Via Demostene), after which the parameters were slightly adjusted to make the investments more sustainable, following discussions primarily with housing co-operatives. But clearly, even today, the cap of 90 euros per square metre per year does not solve all the problems. The most pressing issue is that of ‘patient finance’, which a public guarantee fund could resolve.
The Bovisasca area is currently the most attractive option, as the City Council is guaranteeing the full cost of the site remediation. The City of Milan explains the reasons for the extension in an official statement: ‘Operators will have more time to submit suitable proposals, without altering the Council’s objective of awarding the contracts by the end of the year.’ The City of Milan has extended the deadline for the submission of bids relating to the three calls for tenders to 26 October. These calls involve the granting of a 90-year surface rights lease on municipal land and the construction and management of affordable social housing, as well as a proportion of public housing on the site of the former Palasharp. The extension responds to a request made by several operators in the sector for more time to draw up technical and economic proposals commensurate with the complexity of the projects’. The Councillor for the Budget, Public Property and the Extraordinary Housing Plan, Emmanuel Conte, emphasises that ‘the extension does not represent a delay: it addresses the complexity of the projects and enables operators to submit better proposals’. On 26 October, the two international design competitions for Zama-Salomone and Porto di Mare will also close. Everything will be announced on that day.
