The APB and Palma City Council present the Portitxol redevelopment project

The project aims to free thousands of square meters for public use, gain more green spaces, and optimize port uses and services with sustainable criteria.

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) presented today, Friday, August 29th, together with the City Council of Palma, the Portitxol redevelopment project, an initiative aimed at opening up this strategic enclave between the port and the city and transforming its waterfront into a more integrated, accessible, and sustainable space. The proposal includes freeing 4,300 square meters for public use, creating 5,500 square meters of green areas, removing architectural barriers that obstruct access and views of the sea, improving urban mobility for residents, optimizing port uses, and strengthening the connection between the dock and the neighborhood.

The APB president, Javier Sanz, together with his director, Toni Ginard, and the councilor for Tourism, Culture, Sports, and Municipal Coordination, Javier Bonet, presented the redevelopment project yesterday to representatives of local neighborhood associations at the Can Salas building, also known as sa Petrolera. As Sanz highlighted, “from a closed and tense enclave, we will move to an open, organized, and sustainable area that will bring more quality of life, more city, and more sea for everyone.” He concluded: “With these measures, Portitxol will stop being a boundary and become a lively and accessible space, giving prominence to people.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the redesign of the promenade and the intervention at the mouth of the na Bàrbara torrent. The project plans to eliminate the current four-meter level difference between the promenade and the docks, as well as improve accessibility throughout the urban space. Existing architectural barriers will be removed to provide more than 4,300 square meters of open space for public use.

The new layout contemplates the harmonious coexistence of neighborhood residents with other existing uses, such as restaurants, commercial establishments, port activities, and recreational areas. While new spaces are created to encourage socialization, relaxation, and outdoor enjoyment, a surface parking lot for residents will be built, the Calle de la Sirena will be pedestrianized, and vehicle access will be reorganized, prioritizing residents’ needs and pedestrian flow.

The reorganization of these port uses will allow the creation of a large public square facing the sea, as well as the construction of an underground parking lot, replacing areas currently occupied by road traffic and dry dock with 5,500 square meters of green or recreational space.

The proposal also includes an ambitious intervention in the port area, renewing infrastructure, reorganizing nautical and sporting services, optimizing underused spaces, and creating new berths for small boats.

Thus, the current sailing school managed by the Club Nàutic Portitxol will be moved to the fishermen’s dock, while the dry dock and boatyard will occupy the Troneras area. Both the Troneras and sa Roqueta areas currently have inefficient layouts and lack basic services, which will be addressed with the installation of a fuel station adapted for boats and optimization of the water mirror to meet demand for social moorings.

The symbiosis between public and port uses will have a new reference point with the construction of a walkable roof attached to the outer Troneras quay. Under this roof, new spaces will be created for port needs such as storage, workshops, or sheds. This solution is similar to the one successfully implemented a few years ago in the neighboring Molinar port, which features a widely appreciated sea viewpoint for residents and visitors.

Portitxol, located at the eastern end of Palma’s port, is currently a small artificial dock dedicated to small boat moorings. It is highly valued by Palma residents as a place for walking, leisure, and contact with the sea and open air, as well as by users of recreational boating due to the convenience and accessibility of its berths.

Its origins as a natural cove at the mouth of the na Bàrbara torrent, serving as a shelter for boats, date back to the late prehistoric era and it was used as a trading point by several later civilizations, including the Romans, Phoenicians, Byzantines, and Punics. In the 18th century, the Molinar neighborhood emerged from fishermen’s houses and summer residences built around the mills constructed along the coast.

However, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the area grew significantly with the establishment of industries dedicated to gas, oil, and electricity, becoming a working-class neighborhood with a strong trade union and political character. Today, it is part of the public port domain under the APB, dedicated to managing small boat moorings, mostly under eight meters in length, with 460 directly managed and 100 through the Club Nàutic Portitxol.