Santa Cruz Begins Safety Works on Abandoned Acorán High-Rise

The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council has begun securing an unfinished building in the Acorán neighborhood this week. The project aims to reduce accident risks at the site, which has sat abandoned for decades.

Work officially started this morning following a handover of the site. The emergency operation, costing 112,500 euros, is designed to block access to the 22-story concrete skeleton, where construction was abandoned in 1974 after the original developer went bankrupt.

Supervised by the Department of Urban Planning, the project focuses on five main areas to block internal paths and secure the perimeter. Key measures include demolishing access ramps between the ground and fourth floors and removing piles of earth that allowed people to enter at the sixth-floor level. Additionally, 34,000 euros has been set aside to seal 930 square meters of openings in the facade with metal mesh and reinforcements to prevent anyone from getting inside.

Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez stated that while the city’s ultimate goal is to demolish the complex entirely, these immediate repairs are necessary to protect the public, as people are frequently found inside the building. The deteriorating condition of the Y-shaped structure prompted the local government to fast-track these safety measures.

This project highlights the ongoing challenge of managing a site that has impacted the coastline for nearly 50 years. Originally intended to be an ambitious hotel complex in 1973, the building has since become a significant safety concern for the city. With these new measures, the City Council hopes to eliminate the risk of accidents at the site.