The Chairman of Unicaja Banco, Manuel Azuaga; the Mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente; and the municipal councilor for Urban Planning, Manuel Saravia, have concluded an agreement to exchange the Lope de Vega Theater, property of the bank, for an urban plot located in Callejón de la Alcoholera. Consequently, the Valladolid City Hall will be in charge of the historic theatre –inaugurated in 1861-, with a view to refurbishing it for it to be used as soon as possible as cultural equipment, as it is one of the city’s most valuable and remarkable buildings.
Manuel Azuaga expressed his satisfaction for the positive outcome of the negotiations and remarked the contribution of Unicaja Banco, through this agreement reached with the City Hall, to the recovery of this building of architectural and cultural value for all the citizens. This action falls within the bank’s historic commitment to Valladolid and to the institutions, companies and citizens of Castilla y Leon.
The Valladolid Mayor pointed that ‘it is an important day for the city of Valladolid, because a historic building of incalculable value returns to the city. We hope to be able to reopen its doors soon for all the citizens’. He also highlighted that it was ‘excellent news’ for Valladolid and explained that with the agreement, at no cost for the public funds, Valladolid will gain a stage of great historical relevance, which will allow the city to advance in innovation and in cultural offer.
Finally, Manuel Saravia thanked the work, availability and generosity of the negotiating teams of both the city hall and the bank.
The Chairman of Unicaja Banco has been accompanied at the meeting with the Valladolid City Hall by Unicaja Banco General Director of Resources, José María de la Vega, and by the Head of Institutional Relations and Relations with Stakeholders, Fernando Ríos.
The plot of Callejón de la Alcoholera exchanged for the Lope de Vega theatre has a surface of 1,774 sqm, and a buildable area of 4,760 sqm.
Brief description of Lope de Vega Theatre
Inaugurated in 1861, the Lope de Vega Theatre is located in Calle María de Molina, 12, at the corner of Veinte de Febrero. It has a surface of 1,676.75 sqm, with an irregular shape and a mostly rectangular body to which two trapezoids are attached.
The building follows the scheme of traditional Italian theatres, with a horseshoe-shaped layout and profusely decorated proscenium and proscenium arch. It has a classical disposition of seating area in the main floor, box seats, circle and gallery. The longitudinal section is divided into three basic volumes: stage, hall (with 348 seats) and lobby (configured as a large corridor which ends in the hall). The building also has two utility rooms, a rectangular one, 36.1 x 7.43 sqm and two floors, facing Calle Veinte de Febrero. The old dressing rooms are at the south of the stage.
Brief history
The Lope de Vega Theatre is the oldest stage of the city. The building has more than 150 year of history.
It worked as a theater and later as a cinema, but it closed down in 2000. Part of the building has been used by the Mesón Restaurante Riesgo. In 2006, the theater was acquired by Caja Duero. From 2007 to 2009 the said institution submitted the basic project and final design (signed by Horacio Fernández del Castillo) for its comprehensive refurbishment, which intended to go beyond a simple consolidation and restoration of the main hall. It got the municipal permits and the approval by the Comisión Territorial del Patrimonio on 30 October 2009.
