The Botanic acquired Alicante’s old Post Office building, located in the central Gabriel Miró square, with the aim of turning it into the Generalitat’s headquarters in the provincial capital and to strengthen its presence in the city. This was announced by the former president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, during the project’s unveiling at the end of March last year, a couple of months before the regional elections. Among the goals of bringing the institution closer to citizens, one plan involved hosting public exhibitions, though only one was ever organized, featuring photographs by Magnum and led by Alicante-born Cristina de Middel.
The 28M elections triggered a shift in the Generalitat’s management and, with it, a change in the roadmap for the Post Office building. The new political course began in September when the Generalitat’s Council announced that the Presidency seat would return to the Casa de las Brujas and that the Gabriel Miró property would house the Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, led by Nuria Montes, with the bulk of the team focused in Alicante, numbering around one hundred staff.
The works underway at the building sold by the postal company are progressing more slowly than planned. The initial expectation was for company personnel to occupy this site at the start of the current year, and that timeline has not yet been met. The ministerial team has already set up the office of Councillor Montes and the personnel of the subsecretariat. The rest, who had to leave the Ciudad de la Luz facilities after the studios resumed activity, are currently working, on a provisional basis, from District Digital building number 5 at the Alicante port.
The move of the Presidency of the Generalitat back to the Casa de las Brujas, on Doctor Gadea Avenue, is not described as a whim by the regional government. First, officials argued that the Post Office building offers dimensions more suitable for housing a staff the size of the Ministry. In contrast, relocating the president’s office in Alicante, along with the office of the delegation head and the Attorney General, could be adequately accommodated in the Casa de las Brujas.
These changes have led to the removal of social events and celebrations from the former Post Office building, a feature that had been a hallmark of the Botànic when these offices were established. The plan for this property now aims to keep the ground floor as open as possible to host institutional events for both the Generalitat and the Department of Innovation. For example, it hosted Mazón’s Christmas toast with Alicante media and, more recently, a Generalitat plenary session in Alicante as part of the celebrations for the Hogueras festival.
Another argument in favor of housing the Department’s professionals in the Post Office building is that the daily presence of around a hundred people would help energize the Gabriel Miró area. The Generalitat’s purchase of five postal properties scattered across the community during the Botànic era was not without controversy, as the Popular Party requested access to the contracts of these deals and warned of possible favoritism toward the state company by former president Puig, raising concerns about preferential treatment.