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The Banco de España will transform the Quinta de Torre Arias and open its gardens to Madrid
The Quinta de Torre Arias is entering a new phase following the granting of a concession for its historic buildings to the Banco de España. The institution will be responsible for restoring and managing the buildings over the next 75 years, while the gardens will remain open to the public for residents to stroll through and enjoy.
The agreement will make it possible to restore a heritage complex whose buildings have largely stood unused for years. The intervention will focus on restoring the buildings, improving their preservation and adapting the spaces for new cultural, educational and professional activities.
The project envisages creating a centre linked to study and the financial sector. The aim is to give the buildings a stable use without altering the public character of the green space, one of the main places for rest in San Blas-Canillejas.
The gardens are not part of the exclusive use granted to Banco de España and will continue to operate as usual. Visitors will still be able to walk along its paths, through its wooded areas and historic spaces, without the new management of the buildings limiting general access to the site.
The Quinta is located at number 551 on Calle Alcalá, near Torre Arias metro station. The site brings together century-old trees, former agricultural land and different buildings that reflect the evolution of Madrid’s leisure estates.
Its origins date back to the end of the 16th century and, over the years, it passed through different families and names. In 1913 it adopted its current name and in 2022 it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural, a protection that requires both its architectural values and its historic gardens to be preserved.
The rehabilitation could turn the site into a new hub of cultural activity for eastern Madrid. As well as restoring buildings that are currently closed, the project seeks to attract visitors and create new uses in an area away from the city centre’s more usual heritage circuits.
The change will particularly affect San Blas-Canillejas, where residents have been calling for the full restoration of the estate for years. The opening of the new spaces will still depend on the restoration work, but the gardens will continue from now on to offer the same peaceful refuge beside Calle Alcalá.