Palma town hall is due to come up with proposals over the next few weeks regarding the future of the units beneath the Plaça Major. In November this year, the town hall will recover the management of both the underground car park and the units. Mayor Antoni Noguera says that it isn't essential that these units should continue to have a commercial use.
Noguera describes the area for these units as "a strategic space in the city centre". To this end, the town hall has been looking at using them for municipal services or for other purposes that will be "interesting" for the city. These could be cultural or entrepreneurial.
The mayor acknowledges that some of the units are privately owned. This will be respected and there is no intention to expropriate them. The aim, he suggests, is for private and public use to co-exist. Above all, uses should be "the most suitable for the city and the general interest".
The town hall wants to reach some agreement by the end of the first quarter of the year. Noguera appreciates that decisions need to be taken quickly. He doesn't want delays that might mean November arrives and the area turns into a "desert".
The trade and mobility departments at the town hall are holding meetings to discuss uses. These involve the smaller retailers associations, Afedeco and Pimeco, the Pimem small to medium-sized businesses association, and the young businesspeople's group. Trade councillor Joana Maria Adrover says that the town hall is also talking to the Teatre Principal, which is right by the Plaça Major, to see if it has any interest in using the area.
The Costa del Teatre, the steps next to the theatre on which there are old souvenir shops, is being earmarked as a market for artisans. The councillor for consumer affairs, Antònia Martín, explains that the town hall wants to create "a market of quality with local products that will give the area a good image".