Green light for the major transformation of Illa Citroën in Sants-Montjuïc

Barcelona is preparing for an urban change at Illa Citroën. A 22,000 m² park, more public housing and new facilities will redefine life in Bordeta and Sants-Badal. The project is moving ahead after years of neighbourhood debate.

Everyday life in Bordeta and Sants-Badal is about to change radically. The Consell Plenari has given provisional approval to the urban redevelopment of Illa Citroën, an industrial site that will soon give way to a large urban park, new public housing and facilities that promise to transform the area and its immediate surroundings.

The plan affects more than 35,000 square metres between rambla de Badal, Riera Blanca, carrer Constitució and Jardins de Sants. Most of the facilities of Stellantis España SL, until now dedicated to the automotive sector, will be demolished to make way for a park of more than 22,000 m². This green space, which will occupy almost 60% of the factory's current area, will be built by the private developer responsible for the new homes.

The new park will be integrated with the pedestrian routes of rambla de Badal and Jardins de la Rambla de Sants, making movement and connections between neighbourhoods easier. The transformation responds to neighbourhood demands gathered in a participatory process in which more than 180 people have taken part since late 2024, and which has influenced the final configuration of the project.

Residential buildings will rise along the sides of the future park. Notable among them are 104 public rental flats on Rambla Badal, with more than 7,000 m² of floor area, and 110 private homes on Riera Blanca, which will have underground parking. The buildings have been redesigned to improve ventilation and reduce their height, responding to requests from the neighbourhood and Cavall Bernat school, which will also gain more than 1,000 m² for its expansion and retain its current playground.

The ground floor of the new buildings will contain 1,800 m² for shops and economic activities, with direct access to the park. In addition, a 50-space public car park will be built beneath the new facility, with an entrance from Riera Blanca, intended to ease parking pressure in the area.

The project sets aside almost 8,000 m² for new public and neighbourhood facilities, including three distinct parts that will be located between the existing buildings and the future park, as well as beside the Sants railway box. Differences in level will be overcome with sloping green areas, improving accessibility and landscape integration.

The removal of the industrial barrier will allow smoother pedestrian movement and make access to Santa Eulàlia metro station and Cavall Bernat school easier. Final approval by the Generalitat is expected in the second half of 2026, after which the developer will have four years to carry out the works.

Illa Citroën, for decades a symbol of industrial activity on the border between Barcelona and L’Hospitalet, is thus preparing to become a new green and social lung in the heart of Sants-Montjuïc.

Bordeta, one of Barcelona's neighbourhoods with the strongest working-class tradition, has undergone in recent years a transformation marked by the recovery of industrial spaces and the arrival of new facilities. Illa Citroën, situated at a strategic point between the city and L’Hospitalet, has for decades been a site closed off to the neighbourhood. Its opening and conversion into a park and public housing responds to a long-standing demand from residents, who seek more green areas, services and opportunities to remain in the neighbourhood without being displaced by property pressure.