Barreiro's waterfront, next to the river terminal, will be revitalized with a real estate project that will include the restoration of the old railway station. The idea is to bring together shops, restaurants, work areas and accommodation in the same space.
A Barreiro's waterfront, next to the river terminal, will gain a new social and commercial dynamic with private investment from Barreiro Mar, part of the Mainside group, creator of LXFactory. The intention has been in the pipeline since 2018, but it will be closer to fruition after a concession contract was recently signed between IP Património and Barreiro Mar, Lda to restore the old railway station. There will be 32,000 square meters of renovated space.
The contract, signed at the end of July, will allow Mainside to restoration of the Barreiro-Mar railway station, transforming it into a space with a restaurant, bar, kiosks, terraces, stores and workshops. The station building will be maintained but will be open to the Tagus River with the removal of the old river pier structuresThis will be used to create new spaces for public enjoyment, with terraces and kiosks, as well as some green areas. Old train carriages, now abandoned, will be transformed into the stores and workshops, but also in accommodation wagons as part of a project entitled Zero Box Lodge Barreiro.
Zero Box Lodge is an accommodation concept developed by Mainside in cities such as Porto and Coimbra. small sleeping compartments. They are small, simple, windowless rooms where you can find only one bed; the idea is to offer spaces focused exclusively on guests' relaxation. Thirty accommodation units will be created under this model in the Zero Box Lodge Barreiro, which will have a privileged location next to the Tagus.
The Barreiro-Mar railway station began operating in 1884 and is 140 years old this year. stopped operating in 2005 and the trains moved to Barreiro-A stationIt was built next door. Boats stopped docking at the old station in 1995, when they moved to the current river terminal. The space has been abandoned ever since.
To the newspaper O SetubalenseThe Mayor of Barreiro, Frederico Rosa (PS), explained that the municipality had already expressed its position to IP in 2018, "desire for the station to be transferred to the municipality" and that, "At the time, IP showed openness, but there was an interested party in that concession. That interested party ended up giving up and we ended up, through various contacts, reaching Mainside with whom we had the first meeting". For Rosa, this interest from Mainside means "to see the buildings - especially these iconic ones - invested in and at the service of the population". According to O Setubalense, the next steps will involve getting the municipality's technicians to work with the two companies (IP and Mainside) so that the council can meet with IP again in September.
For Frederico Rosa, the rehabilitation of Barreiro-Mar "it was one of the major objectives we also had to close this term". Barreiro council wants to continue restoring the city's vacant heritage; in March this year, took possession of the former Teatro-Cine do Barreiro and, in JulyThe Socialist mayor has been given permission to buy the old Barreiro courthouse to turn it into a theater. The Socialist mayor now wants to see Quimigal's Casa da Cultura transferred to the municipality, as well as the Palácio de Coimbra, which is owned by CP. "These are iconic buildings that are owned by the state and state companies, they're vacant, and we believe that within the municipality we'll be able to give them another destination"he explained to the same local newspaper.
According to the Mainside website, the Barreiro Mar project will "eliminating the distance between Lisbon and Barreiro by mobilizing and attracting the public" and will allow "welcoming a new Barreiro", "a Barreiro with personality and charisma that presents, in an alternative space, a range of services that will appeal to various audiences and communities".
With this project, which will create a central hub with accommodation, workspace, a meeting point and a venue for events, the aim is to create a "a unique business card for a more modern Barreiro, more dynamic, different, with more power to attract audiences and at the same time with a new space designed for everyone". The redevelopment of the old train station will respect "its primary function, with the necessary adaptations to current uses". But "the installation of a fresh and innovative project, facing inwards and outwards, will create the essential buzz to bring together people with people, companies with companies, ideas with ideas".
The Zero Box Lodge Barreiro "will recreate the imagination of all those who traveled from Barreiro railway station to the Algarve - the old train lines will once again have carriages, but now accommodation carriages. Sleeping by the river in an old carriage will be one of the most unique experiences of the rehabilitation of this space"Mainside promises a global investment that will combine accommodation with work and leisure.
