Puebla To Build 7,000 New Housing Units Downtown

Puebla’s local government and a national housing development chamber will build 7,000 homes in the city’s downtown. The project aims to provide residents in the low-income sector with access to dignified housing, either through an INFONAVIT loan or via a direct purchase. The houses will have an estimated value between MX$500,000 (US$24,340) and MX$1 million (US$48,680).

"We have been holding meetings with the National Chamber of Housing Development and Promotion (CANADEVI)… We hope to sign the agreement soon," said Eduardo Rivera, Mayor of Puebla. He furthermore mentioned that the project will create jobs for Puebla residents, as well as the possibility of acquiring a house at an affordable price. Rivera said the government would support ways to provide incentives, such as tax exemptions for developers, aiming to benefit the state’s workers.

Rivera did not discard that this program could also be used to construct buildings for the hotel and restaurant sector. "The incorporation of other economic sectors that represent a source of employment for inhabitants is not ruled out," said the mayor.

The first stage of the project contemplates the construction of a first stage of complexes around the Historic Center. However, CANADEVI is already negotiating more available spaces. The government and CANADEVI have so far agreed on other potential areas, such as an area near the urban periphery and around the Puebla-Mexico highway. The sites selected for the construction projects already feature street lighting, rainwater and sewage collection systems, as well as an adequate water supply and roads.

Ariosto Goytortura, President of Puebla’s CANADEVI arm, expressed the importance of the authorities’ contribution to satisfy demand for adequate housing. Goytortura furthermore said that the challenge for state authorities will be to generate a land bank, to simplify procedures and improve security to guarantee the arrival of investments in the remaining three years of the current government administration. CANADEVI has the goal of building 17,000 new housing units in 2022, representing an investment of MX$14 billion (US$686 million). This would exceed its 2021 goal of constructing 15,000 homes.

CANDADEVI says market demand has made it difficult to level out the production of residential and low-income housing in Puebla, which stand at 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively.  The construction of low-income housing in the downtown presents an opportunity to create better living conditions for families who live in one of Puebla’s most underprivileged districts.