Follonica draws from its origins to help the local economy regain momentum through a series of projects that go well beyond a simple real-estate project. Around 1830, urban development began in area surrounding the foundries, turning it into the linchpin for the local industrial economy. It is the same area that will serve as the distinguished nucleus of the far-reaching urban redevelopment program designed by the city’s administration based on the PIUSS (the Region of Tuscany’s Integrated Programs for Sustainable Urban Development): seven interventions to revitalize the territory’s economy in terms of the hospitality and tourism offers, of industrial establishments, of services for businesses, and the cultural offers.
For all the assets in the Follonica dossier, the goal is to find private entities interested in discussing the path of increasing the values and to field their own know how. In some cases, the revitalization of real estate properties could lead to a total sale to the new investor; in others, a long-term lease may constitute the ideal solution for the area’s development.
And this is precisely the case for the two foundries, redeveloped according to the designs of architect Vittorio Gregotti, which the Municipality does not intend to sell: the formula that would allow the redevelopment plans to take off may be a lease of up to fifty years. For both sites, the renovations are almost complete: the first has been converted into a theater, flanked by a multifunctional space; the second is predicted to have more than 2,000 square meters to be destined to exhibitions, showrooms, cultural initiatives, and small trade shows. Adjacent to the two foundries, a 800 square meter space is ready to be used for services to business and could also work as an incubator for new business initiatives, especially in the IT and digital fields. The “digital building”, this is the name assigned to the project, could be either a purely real estate investment, or an entrepreneur from the ITC sector.
The industrial area to the east of the urban center is destined to productive uses, but can be adapted to a variety of uses. The municipality is looking for an investor interested in buying the 36,000 square meter area – with existing basic infrastructures (water, electricity, etc.) – for a “greenfield” project.
Parking lots also represent an attractive asset. The starting point is Piazza XXV Aprile, for which the project predicts a three-floor underground parking lot, along with the development of the ground level with services and commercial spaces. The area is very central and highly frequented. For a private investor ready to commit to the creation and management of this development, the project could also extent to other urban areas – to be identified with the Municipality – to define a broader plan for parking lots and urban mobility.
It is natural to think of a hospitality or tourist solution for the two buildings with a sea view, previously used as a summer camps [colony]. The publicly owned Pierazzi colony could be destined to a sale, or find other routes towards revival. It is a building surrounded by a pine forest, has more than 300 square meters of sea-view balconies: an ideal context to transform into a hotel, or a residential solution. The natural destination for privately owned Cariplo colony is a sale, to turn it into a four-star hotel.
