Cáritas Renovates Valladolid, Spain, Building for Homeless Day Center

Cáritas Diocesana is carrying out a comprehensive renovation of its building at number 11 José María Lacort Street in Valladolid, Spain. The property will become a new space for attending to people in situations of vulnerability and will also house the organization’s institutional headquarters. The project involves a material execution investment of more than 3,450,000 euros.

Mayor Jesús Julio Carnero attended the presentation of the project, which will adapt more than 4,150 square meters of the property to its new uses. The intervention includes a day center for homeless people on the ground and first floors. The rest of the building will be devoted to Cáritas’s institutional offices, so the property will combine direct care for people experiencing social exclusion with the spaces the organization needs for its work. The day center is a place where people without homes will be welcomed, a practical form of hospitality toward neighbors (Matthew 25:35).

Carnero thanked Cáritas and the Archdiocese for the invitation to see the project, which he described as important both for the people who most need it and for the whole of Valladolid. He also linked the work to the renovation underway at the neighboring special education center. “This area is going to be renovated with the work being done at the special education center and with this second, adjoining action, which is the renovation of the Cáritas building,” he said, congratulating the Archdiocese for promoting the recovery of an area he considers important to the city.

The mayor directed attention to the social mission of the entity itself. “What is truly significant is the work of Cáritas, which is commendable. We are talking about the third sector and, within it, an Everest of empathy, solidarity and bringing out the best in human beings,” he said. He praised the daily work of the organization’s professionals and volunteers, which he noted is in many cases done quietly. “They give many people who are in situations of need a sense of hope,” he stressed.

The renovation will improve the accessibility, functionality and efficiency of the property, which has an approximate built area of 4,158 square meters on a plot of 602 square meters. Planned actions include excavating the semi-basement to gain height and adapting the ground floor to ensure accessibility and provide two independent entrances, one for the day center and one for the institutional headquarters. The building currently has only one elevator, so the project includes installing new elevators and constructing new emergency staircases to improve safety.

Other measures include renewing the installations, redistributing the interior spaces, updating finishes, and improving the façades and enclosures. In the attic, the roof will be restored to its original configuration. The work takes into account the protection conditions of the property, which has P3 structural protection, as well as the archaeological protection affecting the ground on which it stands. The project will maintain the building’s overall volume and concentrate the work on its restructuring and adaptation to the new uses.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)