More than a decade and a few auctions Then, a long (and fruitless) succession of bids during which its sale price fell little by little, the Maqueda castle It finally has a new owner. The Canarian firm Amcotur (América de Construcciones y Turismo SL) has decided to buy this old Toledo fortress from the State for 3.25 million of euros to convert it into a hotel.
Its sale is important for several reasons.
The bastion sees its future clear after a long (very long) administrative soap opera. The people trust in winning a stimulus that will boost their economy. And the Ministry of the Interior is getting rid of a property in which it invested millions of euros and which it has been trying to get rid of for a decade.
In a place in Castilla-La Mancha… Although the last years of the Maqueda castle (known as “the castle of the tricorns”) have been moved at an institutional level, in reality they are only a chapter in the vast history of this fortress, located 75 km from the center of Madrid, in a town of just 500 neighbors.
Its origins can be traced back at least 981when Almanzor decided to reinforce a fortress that already existed. Since then its history has been full of twists, turns and big names (it is said that Isabel la Católica stayed in one of its towers): in 1157 the bastion came under the control of the Order of Calatrava, in the 15th century it was almost completely rebuilt and over the centuries it ended up in interior handswhich was initially assigned to the Civil Guard units.
What do we do with it? In your file of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha explains that until “recently” the fortress basically acted as a Civil Guard barracks, but the truth is that its recent history is somewhat more complex. Between the 90s and early 2000 An ambitious remodeling was carried out to convert the bastion into the headquarters of the Armed Institute’s historical archive. The idea was left half-finished.
As relates The Countrychanges in the Government and economic ups and downs marked the project. First it expanded, adding a museum to the archive functions; But the 2008 crisis caused the plan to go into a tailspin. During the time of Mariano Rajoy at the head of Moncloa, it was decided to put the property up for sale (along with many other assets) to inject funds into the public coffers.
Although the dream of converting the fortress into a museum-archive did not materialize, it did have consequences: a new block was built between the castle walls, in the parade ground, a modern concrete building with three floors and a basement. In total, the remodeling cost the State 7.4 million of euros. Until recently the property was still listed in the catalog of the GIESE (State Security Infrastructure and Equipment Management), where it was specified that it has a constructed area of 3,060 square meters. The plot adds 2,861 m2.
Dropping in price. The castle is impressive, it has new construction and the plot is classified also as urban land suitable for residential, public or hotel uses (among others), which opens the range of possible uses. None of this prevented Interior from struggling and wanting to free itself from the fortress. In 2014 he asked 9.58 million. In vain. Nobody bid. The following year it adjusted the starting price, leaving it at 7.47 million. Another failure.
The figure continued to decline (first to 5.9 million, then to 2.76) without whetting investors’ appetite. In 2023 its value was established at 3.25 million, the price for which the Canarian company has now decided to buy it, owned by Yusef Nasser and with experience both in the hotel sector and in the management of historic buildings. Among the accommodations in its catalogue, the company includes a four-star hotel located in a Burgos castle from the 15th century.
Although the figure for which the bastion of Maqueda has been acquired directly is much lower than what was requested in 2014 or 2017the hotel group assures to Canarias7 that the operation has been closed at the “official appraisal” price. You will probably have to add the cost of the works to the purchase amount.
Next stop: a small rural hotel. In mind, the company plans to set up a rural hotel, a four-star accommodation, with a spa, swimming pool, restaurants and conference room, according to precise laser. The station clarifies that the establishment will allow you to visit the surroundings of the walls and their archaeological challenges.
For that we will have to wait. From the company recognize that to release the accommodation it will be necessary to invest in the reform and rehabilitate the old wall that surrounds the castle, declared in 1931 artistic historical monument. The idea is that the bastion, popularly known as “Castle of the Tricorns” will open its doors to guests in about a year and a half, around mid 2027.
“It will give life to the town”. The mayor of Maqueda, Andrés Congosto (PSOE), admitted these days to SER that in the town they are “very happy” about the news about the reactivation of the property after “more than 10 years” of projects and ideas that had not quite come to fruition. At the time, it was even proposed to convert the bastion into a museum dedicated to democratic memory, an approach presented by the City Council and the Manuel Azaña Association to the Government years ago.
The councilor has recognized elDiario.es now feels a certain “frustration”, but he then clarifies: “At least a private owner has not bought it and it will be a rural hotel. That will give life to the town, promote tourism and employment.”
Images | Giborn_134 (Flickr) and Junta of Castilla-La Mancha
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