07/28/2021 6:22 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 07/28/2021 7:24 AM
In April 1995, the San Isidro
Train
Station and Shopping Center
of the Costa Train
were inaugurated with the stellar presence of the then King Juan Carlos of Spain and a few months later it was Princess Lady Di who brought her glamor to the north.
This almost abandoned complex, which was an attraction in the '90s, returned to the news after the national government decided to give the
Scalabrini Ortiz University
the more than 14 thousand square meters of surface for the erection of a university headquarters.
Through
Resolution 109/2021
, published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette, the State Assets Administration Agency advanced with the project to transform the Tren de la Costa station into a university hub.
The story began in 1995, when then-president Carlos Menem and businessman Santiago Soldati, at that time owner of
Sociedad Comercial del Plata
(SCP), rang the bell that announced the inauguration of the Tren de la Costa.
It emerged as a private enterprise, with the promise of being "the most modern ecological railway in Argentina."
But the 2001 crisis and the economic ups and downs were blurring that project that presented the Costa train as part of a vernacular version of Disney World when communicating with the Costa Park.
18 years after its inauguration, the government of Cristina Kirchner, with Florencio Randazzo, as Minister of Transportation, determined
the nationalization of the service
due to the lack of compliance with the contract by the concessionaire company.
The years passed and of the 74 stores that existed in the charming building, where there were cinemas, discotheques, restaurants and clothing stores, today only a supermarket, an office and a local radio remain.
Before the pandemic, a documentation office of the Ministry of the Interior also operated.
The rest of the 71 stores were left empty, and are guarded by the police and a security company.
In December 2020, the State Property Administration Agency signed an agreement for the
temporary custody
of the property with the Scalabrini Ortiz University.
What was specified was that through this decision a property with more than 5,400 square meters of covered area and more than 9 thousand uncovered was transferred.
At the end of last year, the Sociedad del Estado Railway Operator reported that the permit holders who exploited the property had expired use permits, without having been renewed due to the context of the pandemic.
And it even confirmed that the premises that RENAPER occupied was about to be relocated.
For this reason, it was resolved to disengage from the jurisdiction of the State Railway Infrastructure Administration and assign the property to the use of the University of Scalabrini Ortiz.
Although the station was inaugurated in 1995, the train was concessioned in 1993 by the government of Carlos Menem, and awarded for 30 years to the Sociedad del Plata of businessman Santiago Soldati.
But the company was bankrupt and the service was already working with certain deficiencies years before its nationalization was resolved.
The owners of Sociedad Comercial del Plata (SCP) recently reactivated the historic claim against the national State for the expropriation of the Tren de la Costa.
The business group claims some US $ 13 million since it considers it has the right to obtain compensation for the recession of that concession.
GRB
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