In 2003, the Government of Mexico City managed the purchase and rehabilitation of the building known as Casa de la Covadonga —located at Belisario Domínguez 44, in the Historic Center—, as part of a project to recover properties of heritage value for social housing. However, currently some spaces of this eighteenth-century enclosure are offered as accommodation for tourists through the Airbnb platform.
According to Alejandro Suárez Pareyón, architect in charge of the rehabilitation, the project arose “from the interest of Spanish cooperation, from Andalusia, in supporting the recovery of a historic housing building, something that had already been done in other countries of America that had been Spanish colonies, in order to benefit the population that resided there and substantially improve their housing conditions. ”
“The authorities made the decision that this building would be the Casa de la Covadonga and a competition was launched by invitation to groups of experts, through the Secretariat of Urban Development and Housing (Seduvi), together with the Housing Institute of the then Federal District, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the representation of Andalusia. It was agreed that it was this property because of its high heritage value, and that there were families living there, “he said in an interview.
By 2003, the building with 30 apartments and six commercial premises — some of which were partially destroyed by the 1985 earthquake — was housing 26 families, who were granted credits to buy one of the rehabilitated spaces.
“The possibility of maintaining the population at the Center depended not only on having adequate housing offers, but also prices within reach of an important sector of the population, but this has not happened easily. Then the phenomenon of Airbnb appeared and I have had news that Covadonga spaces are offered through this model, for five years or so, “said Suárez Pareyón.
On the arrival of Airbnb to the building, the architect commented: “At no time had I thought that this project that responded to maintaining the resident population in the Historic Center would become an offer for people who came to tourist, which eliminates the possibility of preserving it as a quality space for those who do not have income levels to pay for those rents. ”
“Now, with this agreement that Mexico City proposes with Airbnb, it is seriously affecting not only the population of the Historic Center, but also the areas of the central city, such as the entire Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office, Benito Juárez or Miguel Hidalgo, including Venustiano Carranza, and it is a totally unfair competition against the need for housing at fair prices for the population, ” Added.
Read: CDMX and Airbnb agree to promote “creative tourism”; Sheinbaum denies raising rental prices
Centuries of history
Before being used as a living space, the building had been built with the aim of becoming the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, intended to be an asylum to house girls of Spanish descent. However, it could never become. To save it from the expropriation of the Reform Laws, it was finished off and converted for the first time into a condominium in 1814.
According to INAH investigations, its first occupants were, for the most part, women who were dedicated to promoting the devotion of various religious images, taking them on visits to homes and businesses to obtain monetary income, or praying for people who rewarded them with alms, who did not pay rent.
In 1853, the Royal Congregation decided to sell the property and it became a neighborhood, which in the late nineteenth century was acquired by the Rafael Dondé Foundation, and later passed into the hands of the Government of the Federal District for its recovery, in order to “reinhabit” the Historic Center and benefit the inhabitants who were already in the area.
“The project was reopened in 2005 and the residents who lived there returned. Other houses, which remained on the façade and had a higher cost, were occupied by new neighbors through a free sale, “said architect Suárez Pareyón.
“I believe that this approach was appropriate to recover residential buildings in the Historic Center, or where appropriate create new residential buildings so that the population that has traditionally occupied the area did not leave, because in principle it was a housing policy for families living by tradition and long ago … And undoubtedly it was necessary to think that new occupants would arrive, but in this way the access has been discontinued.al, for population with another income level,” he said.
Read: “From one day to the next we are disposable”: the expansion of Airbnb-type housing in Mexico City expels neighbors from downtown areas
On Airbnb, the stay at Casa de la Covadonga is touted as “a small apartment overlooking the inner courtyard, all stone and with a fountain in the middle that I’ve never seen work. Despite the tremors and restorations, the place retains its original colonial façade”, which can be rented for 860 pesos per night.
The patio to which he refers was one of the most remarkable details of Suárez Pareyón’s project for the rehabilitation of the building with historical value. The architect proposed a design of the space that would allow most apartments to have a view of the fountain.
Political Animal consulted the Seduvi, the INAH, the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office and the authorities of Spain on the issue of the arrival of Airbnb to a property rescued with public resources, but none of the authorities pronounced on the matter.
“The Historic Center has been becoming fashionable”
In the opinion of Suárez Pareyón, the Historic Center “has gradually become fashionable in recent years, which has led to its population beginning to be of a much higher income level.”
With phenomena such as Airbnb, he added, those who came to live are tourists who work remotely, “which is complicated, because they are a very strong competition for most sectors of the population; Faced with the possibility of earning more money with short-stay rentals, many owners begin to choose this type of rental, which becomes a factor that favors the depopulation of the centers. ”
“An argument of those who defend this model is that they say that who does this is not the company, but the owners, but since there is no regulation on the rules of the game for housing rental, it lends itself to this situation,” he said.
Suárez Pareyón explained that the phenomenon of depopulation of historic centers is not exclusive to Mexico, just as it is not the fact that governments design strategies to try to repopulate the spaces in dispute for the attractiveness and accessibility of services that the area has. “But it is possible to address it with a specific housing policy aimed at ensuring that there are permanent residents who even ensure conservation,” he warned.
“Until a few decades ago, the Historic Center had as a characteristic that a good part of its population worked in the same area, but the change of the main economic activities to other parts of the city, together with other phenomena, were causing the population to be lost. Although the Center attracts many people during the day, at night it loses inhabitants and many areas are practically empty. Addressing this phenomenon, along with the expulsion of neighbors, is one of the great challenges that must be addressed, “he concluded.
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