Yucatán Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal announced that the government intends to sell 30% of the land at La Plancha to the private sector. That leaves the remaining 70% of its 37 hectares for a long-imagined park.
“We intend to sell 30% of the land for funding, so that a real estate, commercial, office, and apartment development can be carried out on that site,” said Vila Dosal. “With that, we’ll create a large public park in the remaining 70% of the land.”
La Plancha is the largest undeveloped plot of land in the Centro. Historically, La Plancha was a railroad yard.
For a while, there were talks about La Plancha becoming a possible station for the Tren Maya mega project.
Just recently, the Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo (Fonatur) announced that the Mérida headquarters will not be in the capital of the state. Instead, they will be located in the area of the former Hacienda Teya, about 8 km from the city.
“Such determination was made considering the project’s construction time and the efficiency of the process. It was necessary to modify the route since construction and mobility problems within the city must be avoided,” said Fonatur.
Vila Dosal said that the train would take a detour before reaching Mérida, so that the nearest stop would be located outside the capital, along the railroad tracks that connect with Umán and Teya.
The governor has supported the mega project, which he says although many criticize, will be positive for the state.
“Transportation that quickly connects Quintana Roo and Yucatán is very positive,” said Vila, “since it will attract the 14 million visitors that come to this area.”
Parque La Plancha is surrounded by important institutions, such as the ESAY (Superior Arts School for Yucatán), the railroad museum, and the light museum, from the UNAM.
Several proposals for a public park project have been made by collectives such as Colectivo Gran Parque la Plancha, which intends to create a wooded park, with botanical gardens and community orchards; space for sports and recreation, a cycle path, and the renovation of the warehouses and train platform for cultural and commercial uses.
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