Representatives from Salvar Hortaleza visited the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture this Thursday, April 9, to formally submit the signatures. The goal is to defend Huerta de Mena, also known as the Finca de Los Almendros de Hortaleza, from the intention of its owners, the Madres Adoratrices, to demolish it for office construction, with the support of the Madrid City Council, led by José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
In addition to delivering the signatures, the platform has requested a meeting with the Minister of Culture for the Community of Madrid, Mariano de Paco. The aim is to push for the declaration of the estate as a Cultural Interest Asset (BIP), a measure that the regional government announced a year ago but has seen no significant progress to date. The platform has called on residents and media to accompany this act and show their support for the protection of this space, whose cultural, architectural, and landscape value is at risk.
Despite a technical report from the Community of Madrid supporting the protection of Huerta de Mena, the City Council has decided to avoid its protection and allow the urbanization of the land, ignoring previous technical reports commissioned by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage itself.
Huerta de Mena is not only a green space of great ecological value but also possesses a rich cultural history. It was linked to the life and work of the playwright Carlos Arniches and his son, the architect Carlos Arniches Moltó. Key figures in Spanish culture such as José Ortega y Gasset, Rafael Alberti, José Bergamín, and Eduardo Ugarte frequented the estate, which a century ago was a meeting point for intellectuals and artists of the Generation of '27 and the architectural avant-garde of the Generation of '25.
The urban development project, promoted by the French real estate company Therus Invest and the Madres Adoratrices, plans for the construction of 36,000 square meters of offices. According to Salvar Hortaleza, this would mean the irreversible disappearance of one of the last vestiges of Madrid's agricultural past. The platform warns that the loss of Huerta de Mena would be an attack on the city's cultural memory and an urban planning error at a time when Madrid needs more green and sustainable spaces.
To continue raising awareness, the neighborhood platform has organized a new neighborhood walk for next Sunday, April 12. This tour will allow participants to explore the surroundings of the estate, which has been closed for over a decade, and delve into its extraordinary history.
