The Minister of Justice, Local Administration, and Public Function, José Antonio Nieto, has informed the Parliament Plenary about the tender for the drafting of the Basic and Execution Project, as well as the technical direction of the works that will be carried out in the building known as El Cubo to host the first phase of the Justice City of Granada, which was published a month after the purchase of the property, formalized on December 5. «After years of non-compliance with the judicial capital of Andalusia, today we can affirm that all the machinery is in motion for the Justice City of Granada to become a reality fulfilling the acquired commitment,» he emphasized.
The building is an architectural landmark of the city, with over 36,500 square meters, including the two basement floors and the seven floors above ground that will house all the courts of First Instance, Commercial, and Administrative Litigation, as well as the Presidency of the Provincial Court, the Deanship of the courts, Civil Registry, Public Prosecutor’s Office, and common services. Thus, organs currently dispersed in four locations will be unified in the same building, two of them owned by the Junta and the other two rented, resulting in an annual saving of over 1.2 million in leases.
From January 13 to February 12, the deadline is open to submit bids for the drafting of the Basic and Execution Project for the adaptation of El Cubo, for an amount of over two million euros (including VAT) and with a 38-month execution period.
The Justice City of Granada will be complemented by a new building on the adjacent plot to El Cubo that the City Council will cede to the Junta and will host all criminal jurisdiction. In this regard, the minister acknowledged that it was the change in the municipal government in 2023, with Mayor Marifrán Carazo at the helm, that allowed progress on the project.
He also recalled that, upon taking office as Minister of Justice in June 2022, he addressed this issue with the highest judicial authorities, such as the President of the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia, Lorenzo del Río, and the Chief Prosecutor of Andalusia, Ama Tárrago, as well as legal operators in the city. However, «it was impossible to make progress with the previous municipal team on anything other than the stubborn idea of creating a new headquarters in the axis between Gran Vía, Plaza Nueva, and the Caleta building,» even though there was not enough space in this area to build a building capable of hosting all current bodies and anticipating future growth.
El Cubo, future headquarters of the Justice City of Granada.
It was after the change of municipal government that other alternatives were considered, including the location of the Justice City in the building known as El Cubo, then owned by Caixabank, and the adjacent plot owned by the municipality. To purchase it, the Junta already included a budget of 20 million euros in 2024.
Nieto has estimated 37 numerous meetings, both in person and virtually, held with Caixabank until reaching an agreement. The purchase was formalized on December 5 in an event with the President of the Junta, Juanma Moreno. Less than two months later, on January 13, the Ministry tendered the drafting of the basic and execution project to adapt it for future judicial use, as «we committed to not waste a minute.»
«Today we can say that Granada has a future, it will have the Justice City it deserves, and we surpass the stage where promises were not kept,» he emphasized.
Meanwhile, he made it clear that the Ministry will carry out improvement works in the Caleta building funded by European PIREP funds. The tender for the works in this headquarters is about to be published with an estimated investment of over 2.7 million, and the idea is to start the works in September to ensure decent working conditions for legal operators while the new Justice City is ready. It is also about keeping the current building in good condition for its future use or sale by the Junta.
The Justice City of Granada is one of the major projects of the Judicial Infrastructure Plan 2023-2030, which includes actions in 100% of the 85 judicial districts of Andalusia to ensure there is no first-class justice in major cities and second-class justice in other municipalities.
The adaptation of judicial buildings to the needs of the 21st century – with full accessibility, energy sustainability, and adapted to the reorganization that the Justice Service Efficiency Law will bring – is one of the five pillars of work outlined in the first Justice Strategic Plan.