Works to adapt the El Salvador church on Calle Triton, Torrevieja have been put out to tender by Torrevieja City Council, with the aim of converting the building into the Multipurpose House of Associations, which is also known as the Hotel of Associations. The project represents one of the commitments made by the PP government team in its electoral programme, answering a long-standing demand from the associative fabric of the municipality.
The base budget for the project totals 256,086 euro. It is intended to serve as a hub for citizen participation through volunteering and the daily work carried out by dozens of social entities for the benefit of the city, according to information shared yesterday, Friday 3rd July, by Federico Alarcon, the councillor secretary of the local government board.
This amount comes in addition to the expenditure already made by the City Council to purchase the property for 251,000 euro to use it as municipal offices. Few details were revealed at the time of the purchase in December 2024, when the Bishopric sold the final temple it had built in the city in 2013. The sale was intended to settle a loan of 770,000 euro used to construct the temple on municipal land, which was originally built to meet the worship needs of residents in the extensive residential area of Torreblanca, a continuous area consisting of thousands of tourist homes located between the north of Torrevieja urban centre and the district of La Mata.
Specifically, the objective is to accommodate associations registered in the municipal register that belong to the departments of Citizen Participation, NGOs and Volunteering, Senior Citizens and Immigration. The project will provide these groups with suitable facilities for meetings, training, user support and the organisation of activities.
The project includes an interior reorganisation of the spaces, the installation of a new air conditioning system, and improvements to health and functionality conditions. It will also encompass all necessary actions to obtain the corresponding activity licence as an administrative building intended for offices and shared use spaces.
The existing structure of the building will be respected without modifying its exterior configuration. Work will focus on the redistribution of the interior rooms, the partial renovation of electrical installations, the compartmentalisation of new spaces, the improvement of accessibility, and the adaptation of the property to all current regulations regarding safety, evacuation, fire protection, universal accessibility, efficiency and functionality.
The building covers an area of approximately 1,300 square metres distributed over two floors, in addition to a basement garage that will be utilised as a logistics centre for the municipal Parks and Gardens team.
Facilities will include a large multipurpose room of 277 square metres, which will be used for meetings, conferences, training and large-format activities. Six main rooms, each with an area of approximately 60 square metres, will be distributed between the ground floor and the first floor for use by the various associations. Other features include complementary facilities, offices, storage, distributors and toilets, which include services adapted for people with reduced mobility. The project anticipates an approximate capacity of 98 people, with evacuation routes, signage and safety measures fully adapted to current regulations.
In a separate decision, the governing board also gave the green light to grant a licence and authorisation for the Generalitat to start expansion works for the haemodialysis service at Torrevieja Hospital. The Ministry of Health awarded the action last June for 724,000 euro to add eight places for chronic patients to the current thirty, with an execution period of eight months.