The industrial building of the Auxiliary Company of Commerce and Industry, known as “the CACI”, is the one that touches the Port and is on the seafront, between the beach and the train track. In the city there has been a lot of talk about what to do with it. Some projects and “photos” have even been developed with possible candidates to fill it with content. But for one reason or another, none of the ideas (the comic, the FIBA headquarters or a UB team) have come to fruition.
It was in 2010 when the socialist, convergent and Esquerra municipal government (with ten, five and one councilors) took advantage of the “Zapatero Plan” to invest three million in the structure of the building and carry out a proposal agreed to the government plan of the three parties for Republican Esquerra to make the Comic Museum. This has been the idea that, of all, it has had the longest journey.
Since then, ten years have become eternal but short to summarize: the economic crisis has caused the public investment capacity to fall and the size of that project is not possible today. Or it doesn’t seem like it is. Should we completely dismiss and look for alternatives? Let me answer this question in a few moments. First, I would like to highlight the fact that, despite the 10 years of economic crisis that we carry behind us, Catalan society has found new growth niches. We see it in Barcelona, or if you allow me, we “saw it” in Barcelona, with the entire ecosystem of startups, biotech companies and initiatives such as those led by private entities managing and promoting the search for talent and investments. All this, of course, in the world we were before the pandemic.
It is essential that the City Council expand the planned uses for this building to make it easier for us to search for projects of value to the city
This pre-pandemic reality, of a Barcelona well positioned in the world and southern Europe to attract companies and capital linked to innovation, knowledge and technology, will return. Because it is there, and because there are the conditions – infrastructure, regulation, investors, research centers and training centers – for it to be so. And that is why from Restarting Badalona (on the web, rbdn.cat) we have wanted to move so that Badalona can take advantage of these opportunities and not get off the hook. We believe in our Germans Trias Hospital campus of medical knowledge. We believe in the renewal of our industrial estates, today generally associated with activities with little added value and little job creation. And we believe in valuing municipal public heritage to compete and offer opportunities for training, innovation and research.
It is for això that fem a proposal that answers the question about whether to discard the project of the Comic Museum to look for an altre. No. Do not propose that it is discarded. But I do believe that it is essential that the City Council expand the uses envisaged for this building and impact on the research, innovation, training and transfer of connectivity to obtain the possibilities and facilitate their development. search –among tots– projects of value for the city. Follow lligats to an idea that has not been realized in the darrers 10 years, and that does not appear in the pressupost cap or the priority European finance line, while observing with Sant Adrià i Barcelona, l’Hospitalet or El Prat van positioning-se per Capture innovation and talent, it is not the one that cal fer if I say that this building prengui vida d’una vegada. Sense anar against the idea cap, volem that s’hi permetin more uses. If the city facilitates a debate, it will be necessary to determine who will respond more to the needs and to the position that I will have in this great Barcelona of which I form part. That is why we make a proposal that answers the question of whether to discard the Comic Museum project to find another. No. We do not propose that it be discarded. But we do believe that it is essential that the Plenary of the City Council expand the planned uses for this building and add those of research, innovation, training and knowledge transfer to open up the possibilities and facilitate that we can search -among all- projects of value to the city. To remain linked to an idea that we have not carried out in the last 10 years, and that does not appear in any budget or in any priority European financing line, while we observe how Sant Adrià and Barcelona, Hospitalet or El Prat positioning themselves to capture innovation and talent, is not what to do if we want this building to come to life at once. Without going against any idea, we want more uses to be allowed. And that the city hold a serene debate to choose which project best responds to the needs and positioning we want to have in this great Barcelona of which we are part.És per això que fem a proposta that answers the question of whether to discard the project of the Museu del Còmic to search for an altre. No. Do not propose that it is discarded. But I do believe that it is essential that the City Council expand the uses envisaged for this building and impact on the research, innovation, training and transfer of connectivity to obtain the possibilities and facilitate their development. search –among tots– projects of value for the city. Follow lligats to an idea that has not been realized in the darrers 10 years, and that does not appear in the pressupost cap or the priority European finance line, while observing with Sant Adrià i Barcelona, l’Hospitalet or El Prat van positioning-se per Capture innovation and talent, it is not the one that cal fer if I say that this building prengui vida d’una vegada. Sense anar against the idea cap, volem that s’hi permetin more uses. I that the city facilitated a debate will be to determine who will respond to the necessities and the position that I will have in this great Barcelona of which I will form part.
Ferran Falcó
President of the Associació Restarting Badalona
