Marbella Social Hub: A New Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The new Marbella Social Hub, located in Trapiche Norte, was announced to open its doors this Friday by the City Council. This comes a year after the completion of the building’s refurbishment and a statement by Mayor Ángeles Muñoz that it would be operational by April 2023. However, the reality is that the center is not yet operational.
Mayor’s Announcement: A Premature Celebration?
The mayor held a press conference this morning to supposedly announce that the ‘Social Hub’ Innovation Center is now operational. This is not the case, as it was acknowledged during the event that it will still be “a month or a month and a half” before it can be fully operational due to the need for a regulation to govern its use. In the meantime, potential entrepreneurs are invited to visit the center, as stated by Muñoz.
A Year of Remodeling and Broken Promises
A year ago, the building’s remodeling was completed, which Mayor Ángeles Muñoz had promised in 2017 to relocate the Traffic offices to. The residents of Santa Marta, where the current offices are located, welcomed the idea to free up parking in their neighborhood, but it turned out to be another false promise. In 2021, the mayor changed her mind and announced that the building was no longer suitable for the Traffic departments, which remain in the same location.
Marbella Social Hub: A Year Later
On March 28, 2023, the mayor visited the building and announced the end of the remodeling works. She stated that the furniture would be brought in and the center would open in April. However, it has taken a year, with various disputes between delegations, for the center to still not be up and running.
Facilities and Funding of the Marbella Social Hub
The facilities can accommodate up to 80 entrepreneurs in its various spaces at no cost, with technical and logistical advice provided by the Economic Development and SMEs delegation. It will complement the business incubators in Plaza de los Naranjos and San Pedro Alcántara. The building consists of two floors, divided into different rooms; the first floor includes training classrooms, a podcast recording space, video game training, 3D printing, and coworking spaces. The top floor of the building has an open workspace for coworking, an office, and a cafeteria. A total of 600,000 euros have been invested, 80% of which are European funds, plus another 150,000 euros in furniture and technological equipment.
From Traffic Office to Social Hub: A Change of Plans
In September 2017, Ángeles Muñoz announced that the Civil Guard would move its Traffic offices from San Antonio Street to this building in Trapiche Norte, at the confluence of Florida Avenue and Paco Ostos Street. She assured that the City Council would cede it for this purpose in what she herself defined as an “ideal location” next to the highway. However, she later changed her mind and now, a year after the completion of the works, the Social Hub has been launched.
