Sant Joan Despí is still waiting for the major Gallina Blanca project, with 2028 now the new date

Development of the Gallina Blanca sector has still not got under way in Sant Joan Despí. The €150 million project promises homes, offices and jobs. Delays and legal obstacles are keeping residents and businesses on edge. The key date is now 2028.

The future of the Gallina Blanca sector in Sant Joan Despí remains up in the air, despite the expectations it generates among those who see this development as an opportunity to revitalise the area and connect neighbourhoods that have historically been isolated. The project, which aims to transform the former industrial land into a new hub for housing, offices and economic activity, has accumulated years of delays and is keeping residents and businesses on edge.

In 2020, the council began procedures to rezone the land, anticipating that works would be ready in four years. However, the reality has been very different. Although the amendment to the Metropolitan General Plan was approved in 2023 and initial approval was given at the end of that year to the land readjustment and urbanisation projects, the process is moving slowly. Only once both receive final approval can a building permit be sought to carry out Agrolimen’s €150 million plans.

The plan envisages the construction of 413 homes —184 social housing units—, two office buildings, a commercial area and a hotel on the 45,000 square metres occupied by Agrolimen’s historic factory. It also provides for a large business park that could create up to one thousand jobs and change the image of the Fontsanta industrial estate.

The delays are not accidental. The project first encountered opposition from the Generalitat on technical grounds and then a legal dispute with the oil company Meroil, owner of a small plot that resisted expropriation. After years of negotiations and adjustments, the plan was unblocked, although far beyond the original deadlines. This delay particularly affects the relocation of Agrolimen’s head offices, which expected to return to its historic headquarters in 2025 but now points to 2028 as the new moving date.

Among the planned works is the construction of an underpass beneath the railway tracks, which will link Passeig de Canalies with Avinguda de Barcelona and make access to the Rodalies station easier from both sides. The new central square, with Agrolimen’s headquarters as its focal point, aims to break the isolation of the industrial estate and leave behind the single-use industrial model that has shaped the area for decades.

The urban design also provides for integrating Renfe, tram and bus lines, as well as the future arrival of Barcelona Metro’s L3, strengthening connectivity and mobility in the municipality.

The arrival of the railway in Fontsanta in 1891 marked the beginning of industrial activity in the area, attracting companies such as Gallina Blanca, which set up there in 1955. Over time, however, the railway tracks became a physical barrier that conditioned urban growth and confined this land to industrial use disconnected from the centre. The neighbourhoods that emerged later also failed to overcome this isolation, leaving the Gallina Blanca block as a residual space.

Despite everything, the location retains its original appeal, now reinforced by the growth of Sant Joan Despí and the dynamism of the metropolitan area, which explains the interest in definitively unblocking the project.

The history of Agrolimen and its Gallina Blanca factory is tied to the industrial development of Sant Joan Despí and the growth of Fontsanta. For decades, the plant was an economic engine and a landmark for the municipality, driving the arrival of new companies and the consolidation of surrounding neighbourhoods. The closure of the factory and the subsequent wait for its transformation have kept alive the expectation of recovering this space as a hub of activity and urban connection, at a time when infrastructure integration and the creation of new uses are seen as key to the city’s future.

Chronology and design (4 Apr 2026): start in 2020, PGM 2023, initial land readjustment at the end of 2023 (Batlle i Roig: Agrolimen headquarters central square). The Meroil/Generalitat blockage overcome; move in 2028. Railway underpass links Fontsanta and the centre. 1,000 jobs expected.