Overview
- The City of Barcelona, which published a detailed calendar and opened the first-phase tender on Friday, aims to start construction in November 2026 to begin the staged conversion of the Modelo site.
- The first phase covers the Escola Xirinacs, an underground sports hall, a centralized energy plant and water storage with projects expected to take about 22 months and to deliver the school for the 2028–29 school year.
- Officials present an official package cost of €176.4 million while one outlet estimates the total could reach roughly €200 million, reflecting scope and technical uncertainty for complex reuse work.
- Later phases schedule 'viviendas dotacionales' between 2031 and 2034 and a final phase that includes housing for older people plus completion of urbanization and remaining facilities by around 2035.
- The plan preserves the panoptic prison form by converting cell galleries into clustered housing and a memorial and exhibition arm, a choice that raises architectural complexity and will shape costs and delivery over many years.