Wang Jianlin, Chinese billionaire and chairman of Wanda Group, purchased a well-known architectural landmark in Madrid known as Edificio Espana in 2014, and is now taking heat from locals for his plans to demolish the building.
Wang and Wanda Group plan to demolish the 25-story building and reconstruct it. More than 70,000 in Madrid have petitioned the government, expressing their strong opposition to Wang’s plan.
Madrid local Jose Villalobos organized a large public protest against the demolition on September 9. Villalobos stated that the Spanish building is an important part of the collective memory of the local people, and the whole of Spain. Even if Wang Jianlin reconstructs the building to look the same after demolition, it will lose its historical value.
Source: inews.qq.com
Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.
Keywords: Jose Villalobos Wang Jianlin Edificio Espana
All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.
Please login to add a comment. Click here to login immediately.
I know the building fairly well as I am from Madrid and passed by it thousands of times and have read a bit about it in the Spanish press. That building is almost crumbling but the City Hall insists that the façáde be saved for historical and artistic heritage reasons. It turns out that the building has no real artistic value according to most and most prominent architects. It has no historical value either as it is from the 50s. The rear part of the building is ugly, dark, dirty, useless and only contributes to the degradation of the area but they don't care because they only want it to look nice from Plaza de España. Unfortunately, in my country, too many people are envious of other people's success and come up with this groundless "historical and artistic" pretenses to make somebody's life impossible. In fact, Wanda has offered to rebuild it the same to please them and to avoid the risks of underpinning the façade while rebuilding but he has been told no. It is a political issue, perhaps one of extorsion. As a born Madridian, I am ashamed of the politics of my country, I want fresh money invested in our economy and think we must welcome those who do. The city of Madrid deserves a much better building than that old usless crap from the 50s.
Sep 13, 2015 18:09 Report Abuse
Spain is bankrupt. They sold themselves out to China. Live with the consequences of your actions.
Sep 11, 2015 14:06 Report Abuse
Spain is not bankrupt. We have a high public debt because of the biggest financial crisis in the developed world after the Great Depression of 1929. Stil it is below that of a few other wealthier countries. As fas as private debt is concerned, it has been reduced in the last couple of years or so. Real Estate prices are on the rise again and we are on top in the EU for GDP growth right now. That building was not sold by Spain but by a private corportation.
Sep 13, 2015 18:01 Report Abuse
I am a Chinese. This bastard has contributed a lot to the ballooning of the house prices in China, and now he is planning to destroy the culture of other countries. Stop him before it is too late, since my country has been turned into a living hell by those sons of bitches like him
Sep 11, 2015 12:44 Report Abuse
Chinese freedom is so great that they are free to destroy everything and everywhere. China!
Sep 10, 2015 23:57 Report Abuse
Very funny. I admit I laughed this comment. However, it is the City Hall itself that is using the protestors to extort Wanda out of its rights.
Sep 13, 2015 18:16 Report Abuse
I suppose he could always put up a sign saying "Historical monument under construction". Chinese have no sense of culture or history and always think new is automatically better. People like this really are barbarians.
Sep 10, 2015 18:05 Report Abuse
They screwed up their own country and now they want to screw up everyone else's.
Sep 10, 2015 17:26 Report Abuse
I think the local government should buy it back and banish him from Madrid, actually this kinda people should be banished from everywhere
Sep 11, 2015 12:50 Report Abuse
I don't get why he wants to demolish and then rebuild it? But since he does, why can't they just photoshop in some rubble and send him the pic (along with a large bill) and then a year later send him a picture of the same building and say it's finished (along with a larger bill).
Sep 11, 2015 14:02 Report Abuse
The local government didn't sell it to Wanda. The could, of course, take it by eminent domain but the law is not in their side and if it did they would have to have the willingness to pay him almost 300 million euro and make if worthwhile for the city budget.
Sep 13, 2015 18:12 Report Abuse
Because the materials are old and tired. The building was made in an era of shortages of good materials under the commericial embargo decreed by other nations against the Franco regime.
Sep 13, 2015 18:13 Report Abuse
Sign up with
Google
(
(