A grand monument to the era of rail transportation, Montevideo's General Artigas Railway Station could soon be filled with shops and theatres. Photo by David Mangurian—IDB.

New life for an old train station

Five minutes from downtown Montevideo, near the heart of Uruguay's capital, lies a choice piece of real estate with one of the country's lowest population densities.

Known as La Aguada, this quiet neighborhood boasts a spectacular view of the city port and the River Plate, ornate 19th century buildings, and the kind of wide open spaces coveted by urbanites. Soon, it could also have people.

Fifty years ago, La Aguada bustled with factories, warehouses and marshaling yards that served trains converging at the massive General Artigas Railway Station. But subsequent changes in Uruguay's economy and its transportation infrastructure reduced the volume of cargo and passengers, and La Aguada became a shadow of its former self.

Today, the shell of the Artigas station is being carefully restored under a program partly financed by a $28 million IDB loan approved in 1998. Known as "Plan Fénix," the program aims to turn the station into a multiple-use cultural and commercial center and all of La Aguada into a dynamic commercial and residential district, primarily by attracting private investment.

During the first stage, an autonomous development corporation owned by Uruguay's National Mortgage Bank is restoring the exterior of the station and soliciting proposals from private developers. The winning contractor will overhaul the station's elegant interior, build a variety of cultural and shopping facilities, and operate the building under a multi-year concession. Contractors will also have the option of converting warehouses into residential units. The development corporation is currently reviewing proposals from domestic and international bidders.

Future stages of the project would finance infrastructure investments to make La Aguada attractive to residential and commercial real estate developers. Improvements would include new streets, parks, lighting, water and sewerage services. IDB funds would also be used to equip the new headquarters of the National Radio, Television and Entertainment Service (SODRE, after its name in Spanish). That renovation would turn the future sodre cultural center and concert hall, located about five minutes away in downtown Montevideo, into a world-class facility for theater, dance and music performance, and film exhibition. Together, the renovated Artigas station and the sodre concert hall and opera house would constitute the two poles of a "cultural corridor" offering numerous other entertainment opportunities.

"The challenge in a project of this size and scope is to ensure sustainable financing," says Héctor Salazar, an IDB specialist who helped craft the program. "By looking for private-sector participation from the start, the Uruguayan government is ensuring the long-term viability of the project."

Date posted: June, 1999

Ambitious plans...