The park that waited 30 years: what the public space will be like in the former Ciudad Deportiva de Boca

has already been designed

, which emerges from the largest private property in the City, which is owned by the company IRSA.

It is a green space that will function as a bellows between the new neighborhood that will be built on the southernmost riverside of the City -which will be called

, and the Barrio Rodrigo Bueno.

The park will also be located meters from the

and the project provides that both can be linked through a bridge. 

It has unusual dimensions for what is usually available in Buenos Aires for this type of work;

To have as a reference, the park will have the same extension as the Centenario, Chacabuco, Las Heras and Las Barrancas de Belgrano parks together.

Last year the City called a

, in which 19 architectural studios participated.

The winning studios were Palo Arquitectura and West 8.

Originally the property has 71.61 hectares.

This is the land where

worked .

company

that obtained -in the Buenos Aires Legislature- the rezoning for construction in height and ceded, through an urban agreement

A simulated image of the winning project to make a park where the former Ciudad Deportiva de Boca was.

The project by the architect

(Palo Arquitectura) and the architect and landscape designer

(West 8) proposes a succession of changes as the land -a rectangular strip of land, reclaimed from the Río de la Plata- goes towards water and away from the streets and avenues.

In a first area, which is accessed from

, there will be sports uses, with infrastructure;

also a playground and a bridge that connects the park with the Rodrigo Bueno neighborhood.

In addition, a forest of native trees and a garden also with native plants,

And a typical species of the riverside will be conserved, very picturesque and of a lively green,

The riverside, in 2021. Photo: Andrés D'Elia.

In this first area, constructions that belong to what was the Ciudad Deportiva de Boca are still preserved.

For example,

(both can be seen from the sidewalk of Avenida España) and a swimming pool with diving boards.

The architects propose that these structures

that the fountain be restored, the confectionery -which could be the heart of a gastronomic market- and the pool, which could be a pond.

The ornamental jumping pool of the former Ciudad Deportiva de La Boca still exists.

Photo: Andres D'Elia

"We thought it important to preserve these spaces to recover the collective memory of what this area of ​​the Costanera Sur meant," Espasandin told

.

He understands that "in some way it is

. It is an opportunity to consolidate a large urban piece and make the transition between what would be the City and the river," he explained.

The second stage was baptized with the name

Here Espasandin and Charro designed a

, which overlooks a phytoremediation area and a water mirror;

there will also be a pavilion for bird watching and a floating platform, a kind of walkway that allows you to walk on the water.

In this area, they seek to create a space to

: "These plants and their associated microorganisms are special for treating environmental problems. It is an ecological solution since the problem is treated in situ and in a natural way," he explained. Espasandin.

The last section of the park will have a viewpoint that will allow you

from an unusual point of view;

a place from which today it is impossible to see it.

In this area, the architects propose the connection of this park with the reserve,

The dancing water fountain was illuminated at night.

It is located at the entrance to the park and will be restored.

Behind, the historic massif of the Rodrigo Bueno villa.

Photo: Andres D'Elia.

There will be a second viewpoint that will allow direct and open views towards the Río de la Plata.

Also playgrounds, pampas grasslands, a coronillos forest, trails, an

and finally, a work of art.

The professionals in charge of designing the park imagined a kind of

which could also become an icon of this area of ​​the City. 

The coastline, in 2021. On the right, the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve;

in the background, the towers and the new Rodrigo Bueno neighborhood.

Photo: Andres D'Elia.

"Within the project, the lighthouse is not a minor issue. It is very eloquent, it was thought on purpose, with the idea that the park

which has always been the most neglected area. It is the lighthouse of the park, yes, but it is also the lighthouse of the City", concluded the architect.

He lamented that the contest is non-binding, but he hopes "there is room to collaborate on development." 

This large 50-hectare estate has a winding history.

In 1964, a law of the National Congress granted Boca the possibility of filling the Río de la Plata and building

It was to be the largest in the world, with

.

Even part of a tribune was raised as a kind of basal stone.

But the same law prevented him from selling the land reclaimed from the river.

The main project, the stadium, was truncated.

And the place became a great

, with huge pools and a famous fish-shaped aquarium;

It also had a large confectionery and a dancing water fountain that was illuminated at night (both buildings still exist).

Thus it remained in use during the 1970s. In 1982, Boca obtained definitive possession of the property, but without the option to sell it.

In 1989, a law was voted again that allowed adding uses - nautical, commercial, hotel - and selling the land.

Which happened in 1992. First it was sold to the Santa María del Plata company and

The confectionery will be restored and they hope it will become the heart of a gastronomic market of ethnic foods.

Photo: Andres D'Elia

Then came another part of the story: the company's need to obtain a rezoning of these lands, which would allow it to build at a height.

In 2010 the Buenos Aires Executive made the first attempt in the Buenos Aires Legislature, but the bill was rejected.

In 2016 there was a second attempt, same result.

In August 2021, a new project achieved the positive vote of the Legislature.

Among other things, the agreement signed by the company and the City determines that 70.97% of the property must be used for public spaces (50.8 hectares) and that the maximum height to be built will be 145 meters (48 floors, approximately ).

There will be two other heights allowed: 17.2 meters and 31.2 meters (between 7 and 10 floors).

The City obtained the public domain of these 50.8 hectares for the construction of streets, boulevards, parks, squares and small squares.

In addition, it was left with the domain of three lots with different constructive capacities (the revenue must be destined to the Urban Development Fund and the Trust for Innovation, Science and Technology).

In the background, the chimneys of the Central Costanera, the largest thermoelectric plant in the country.

Photo: Andres D'Elia.

The works and maintenance of the park are the responsibility of IRSA

: it must allocate 40 million dollars to the construction of the park and maintain it for 10 years (or until completing the sum of 10 million dollars).

In addition, there is a monetary compensation and the delivery of sovereign bonds. 

Regarding the national project contest, it was organized by the City of Buenos Aires.

The Central Society of Architects (SCA) collaborated and was sponsored by the Argentine Federation of Architects Entities (FAdEA).

Among other professionals, the jury was made up of the Buenos Aires Secretary of Urban Development, the architect Alvaro García Resta, and the president of the SCA, the architect Rita Comando.

SC

look too

They enable the construction of a park and a neighborhood in the former Ciudad Deportiva de Boca

The forgotten monument of the Costanera Sur: statues without arms or heads and a claim of more than ten years