San Nicola Arcella approves Villaggio del Bridge redevelopment

The San Nicola Arcella City Council has approved a redevelopment project for the Villaggio del Bridge, a complex that has been abandoned for years. The project, approved on October 5 with seven votes in favor and three against, involves maintaining a hotel component while transforming another portion of the complex into apartments for sale. To facilitate this, the municipality granted an urban planning derogation, recognizing the public interest of the operation.

Filiberto Forestieri, an engineer and former council group leader, has raised concerns regarding the legal protections within the approved convention. While acknowledging positive aspects—such as the 40% limit on transformable residential surface, private funding for works, and the municipality's selection of the tester—Forestieri argues there is a discrepancy between verbal assurances made during council sessions and the written text of the convention.

A primary point of contention is the link between the hotel and the residential units. Although presented in council as inseparable, the current convention may allow the two components to be developed separately over a ten-year period. Forestieri notes that the document lacks clarity on what constitutes “adequately guaranteed” hotel works before apartments can be sold, potentially turning a tourism relaunch into a purely real estate operation.