Brescia: recovery of public housing assets for sustainable housing solutions, dhere are the winning projects of the Regional Call.

The initiatives of continue urban regeneration of the Municipality of Brescia to defend the historic center from phenomena of gentrification and the alienation of the less well-off social classes. The Municipal Administration intends to give concrete answers to the needs of a constantly growing segment of the population that cannot access public housing but cannot find an adequate answer on the free market.

The Public Housing and Complex Projects Sector of the Municipality of Brescia therefore participated to the Lombardy Region Call for Proposals dedicated to the residential offer of social housing services (Sas) in permanent and temporary rental at sustainable rents, published in February 2024, ranking second and third in the ranking respectively with the project for the recovery of public housing assets in the Carmine district called “A neighborhood hub” and with the project for the recovery of public housing assets relating to Contrada Sant'Urbano called “A project of sharing and autonomy”.

The tender proposed to respect four goals:
Zero land consumption or reuse of unused housing stock;
Integration of building interventions with management components of social housing services;
Enhancement of public real estate assets;
Rapid provision of accommodation and/or beds for rent at affordable rates.

The Municipality of Brescia had submitted three applications, all of which were found admissible. The third proposal, however, relating to the Campo Marte neighbourhood, had reached 21st place in the rankings and was therefore not found to be fundable since the call for proposals envisaged a maximum of two fundable projects per organisation.

The two projects ranked second and third will propose the creation of a nucleus of temporary residences for university students, for temporary workers or for anyone who needs affordable housing for limited periods of time and wants to experience a path of exchange and cohabitation. Following the example of innovative housing models such as the foyer and co-living, the two projects do not intend to offer only a roof and a bed but above all an experience of sharing and personal growth at sustainable costs.

RECOVERY OF PUBLIC HOUSING ASSETS IN THE CARMINE DISTRICT “A NEIGHBORHOOD HUB”

Condition of the property

The project concerns the recovery of two adjacent buildings, owned by the Municipality of Brescia, cthey are located in via Nino Bixio at numbers 8 and 10 and 13 scattered apartments in the Carmine district, inside public housing buildings, in a context of differentiated housing supply.

Since the buildings are located within the historic city, regulated by the Technical Implementation Standards of the Land Management Plan, it is knownwill be preserved and subjected to ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, of restoration and conservative redevelopment.

The two buildings on Via Nino Bixio are 5 and 3 stories high and have different heights between the floors. The building on Via Nino Bixio 10 is made up of six very small apartments (studio or two-room apartments), it is currently completely uninhabited and is in such a state of decay that it requires not only internal renovation work on the apartments and windows but also more significant interventions such as the renovation and consolidation of the roof and the attics between the floors. Lo building on via Nino Bixio 8 is composed of eight two-room apartments measuring approximately 60-70 square meters. Three of these, on the third and fourth floors, are vacant while the remaining are inhabited or about to be occupied by users of public housing.

 

Both buildings are accessed via a narrow corridor that leads to the stairs (in via Nino Bixio 8 there is also a lift that needs to be put back into operation). The building at via Bixio 8 has a garden while the one at via Bixio 10 has a courtyard partly occupied by a portico with a fountain. On the ground floor of via Nino Bixio 10 there are also eight cellars and a commercial space.

 

The project also includes 13 apartments, located nearby, of different types ranging from studios to four-room apartments.
The apartments were gradually vacated because they presented health and hygiene problems: external bathrooms, below-threshold accommodation, presence of mould and humidity and architectural barriers.

The project

In line with the welfare policies of the Municipal Administration, the project aims to “create community” among the inhabitants and generate greater exchange between the neighborhood and the entire historic center.

The accommodations on Via Nino Bixio, due to their small size, are suitable for hosting young singles or couples and young families with a maximum of one child.

 

In particular, the three free apartments in via Nino Bixio 8 (the remaining 5 will remain rented as public housing services SAP) have a size between 60 and 70 mXNUMX, which allows for the inclusion of an extra room inside the living room. transforming them from large two-room apartments into small three-room apartments, suitable for hosting small families. In the 13 apartments distributed in the neighboring buildings, the offer is already more articulated between two-room and three-room apartments, thus offering the possibility of hosting families of 1 to 4 members. In total, 22 new apartments will be built, following renovation, to be used for SAS social housing services: 3 apartments in via Nino Bixio 8, 6 apartments in via Nino Bixio, 10 and 13 apartments scattered in the nearby public residential buildings.

Social management

Based on the experience of numerous social housing interventions carried out in Italy and in particular in Lombardy, the project plans to integrate the property management activities with the management of relationships between the people who live there. The figure of the social manager will therefore be an essential part of the project.

The role of social manager will be taken on an experimental basis by the Housing Agency of Brescia “Mé-Kà – Housing Agency”, a project born from the co-design between the Municipality of Brescia and Third Sector Entities. The Housing Agency will facilitate the meeting between rental supply and demand, will coordinate resources allocated to monitoring situations of fragility (social and economic) and will seek solutions for specific situations of housing hardship in coordination with the Municipality's social services. The involvement of the Housing Agency will allow for the introduction of elements of attention in the management of the relationship with tenants (complaints, solutions to maintenance problems, approach to any arrears, etc.) and to ensure coordination between the different management areas.

As a social manager, the Agency will organize meetings and events to promote knowledge among tenants, will create a structured support path to help tenants and residents of the neighborhood in the use and management of shared spaces, will accompany tenants when entering the house, will carry out information and communication activities and will involve third sector entities.

A small apartment on the ground floor of via Bixio 10 will be assigned free of charge to a young man who will work as a social concierge for the tenants and for those who will use the garden and common areas. This figure will dedicate some hours of his time to information activities, of orientation and support, with the involvement of the voluntary association “Gruppo De Noalter” which is based on the ground floor of via Bixio 8 and which already provides some services to the neighborhood. The close collaboration with the Community Point will also allow us to better map the situation of the elderly residents and in particular those who do not have a stable network of caregivers.

Shared spaces

The small size of the accommodations will be compensated not only by the presence of the large garden but also by some common spaces that will provide places of sharing where the tenants can study, work, meet, plan shared and collaborative activities.
A living room will be created on the ground floor as a meeting space and to support the use of the garden. This place could also be used for the listening desk that will be activated by the social manager.
A common room will also be created inside the courtyard of via Bixio 10: a space where you can play cards, watch a film, play or listen to music. A common room will also be created in the habitable roof terrace located on the top floor of the building in via Bixio 10, which will serve as a work and study space.

A neighborhood hub

The proposal includes making the living room and garden available not only to the residents who will live in the apartments included in the project but also to the elderly of the neighborhood. Via Nino Bixio will therefore be configured as a Hub for the neighborhood, a point of reference where you can use the available spaces and where young and old people can support each other.

Methods and times of implementation

Based on the initial assessments made during the drafting of the project, it is possible to hypothesize the division of the works into two lots. The first lot will concern the properties in via Bixio 10 while the second will concern the housing in via Bixio 8 and the scattered housing.

These are the expected time phases.
In the period November/December 2024, the tasks for the drafting of the PFTA projects and the executive project will be assigned
The technical and economic feasibility project will be delivered and approved in January 2025
The executive project will be delivered and approved in May 2025 and the tender procedure will be launched
The final award and signing of the procurement contract will take place in September 2025
Work will start in October 2025
The works will be completed in the period September/December 2026 and the tests and usability will be approved.
In January 2027, the housing/accommodation place assignment service will be activated for a quota of 50%
In May 2027, 100% of the accommodations/places will be assigned.

Economic estimate

The total amount expected for the intervention, to date, is equal to 2.902.150 euros, 1.626.780,240 of which will be covered by the contribution admitted and financed by the Lombardy Region. The Municipal Administration will undertake to find the remaining necessary resources.

RECOVERY OF PUBLIC HOUSING ASSETS IN CONTRADA SANT URBANO “A PROJECT OF SHARING AND AUTONOMY”

Condition of the property

The project concerns the arrangement of a property municipal property located in Contrada Sant'Urbano at numbers 13, 15, 17 and 19.

The complex is made up of three main buildings, organised around a central courtyard, reachable through two stairwells and four independent entrances. In total there are 15 apartments divided as follows: a studio flat, ten two-room flats, a three-room flat and three four-room flats. The total surface area of ​​the lot is 814 m646, the covered surface area is XNUMX mXNUMX, the volume is 6.582 m1300,23 and the total gross surface area is approximately XNUMX mXNUMX.

The apartments were gradually vacated because they presented health and hygiene problems: external bathrooms, below-threshold accommodation, mould and humidity, architectural barriers. Therefore the property is today almost entirely uninhabited with the exception of one owned first floor accommodation and one rented second floor accommodation.

The building in its current state has significant internal alterations of no value, only some date back to the transformation into public housing in the 20s, while most are attributable to subsequent maintenance.

The complex in general has load-bearing walls in local stone and a double-pitched roof in wood and tiles. As regards the finishes, the walls are partially exposed and have a civil plaster finish, the openings have stone ashlars and/or benches; the attic features details of moulded frames.

The project

The intention is to create, right in the historic centre and in a suggestive context, a complex of temporary residences, providing, in compliance with the existing structure, different housing situations for a total of 27 beds: a two-story co-residence organized into rooms and common areas, two large apartments for six and four guests and two two-room apartments, one of which is on two floors. The target we intend to identify is that of young people (students or workers) but also of families who are looking for a temporary solution for short periods.

As with the intervention in the Carmine neighborhood, the project aims to “create community” among the inhabitants and generate greater exchange between the neighborhood and the historic center. In addition to providing temporary housing solutions at affordable costs, services will be offered that will encourage cohabitation, household management (considering that for many it will be the first experience of living away from home) and inclusion in the city's network of services.

The co-residence provides 7 beds per floor, divided respectively into two double rooms and three single rooms, and two large common areas: aa kitchen-dining room on the first floor and a living room on the upper floor. This solution allows the sharing of spaces between all 14 tenants who will therefore have the opportunity to get to know each other and integrate with each other.

A staircase dedicated to the co-residence will allow independent access to the two floors while the other staircase will be dedicated to two large apartments that will also have access to the common areas of the co-residence directly from the landing. The two large apartments, suitable for both students and young people who want to live in a shared flat and for families in need of temporary accommodation, They will have six beds divided into three double rooms and four beds divided into two double rooms respectively.

Both will feature a kitchen, dining and living area. The two-room apartment will have its own independent access on the side of the building while the second two-room apartment will be accessed from the upper courtyard.

Social management

The project will also include, in this case, the presence of a social manager with functions and tasks similar to those foreseen for the social manager of the project concerning the Carmine district.

The social manager will allow the creation of a close-knit community, capable of sharing spaces, offering mutual support and ensuring behavior that is attentive to energy saving. The social manager, moreover, It will also organize collaborative projects open to the neighborhood, supporting solidarity networks, helping tenants in their possible search for work within the city and providing information on services and the cultural and recreational offerings of Brescia.

Finally, the manager will not only have to deal with the administrative parts but, directly or through the agreement with third sector associations, It will also play the role of accompanying the community and proposing actions, meetings and projects aimed at supporting it and ensuring its harmony and good functioning.

The person who will occupy the dedicated space on the ground floor will take on the role of social concierge: will be a member of the management body with the role of promoting the social project by encouraging its communication and success and supporting the tenants.

Methods and times of implementation

Based on initial assessments, a single intervention lot will be carried out for the entire building.
These are the expected time phases.
The assignment of tasks for the drafting of the PFTA projects and the executive project will be carried out in the period November/December 2024,
The technical and economic feasibility project will be delivered and approved in January 2025,
The delivery and approval of the executive project and the start of the tender procedure will take place in May 2025,
The final award and signing of the procurement contract will take place in September 2025
Work will start in October 2025
The works will be completed in the period September/December 2026, the tests and the usability will be approved,
In January 2027, the accommodation/accommodation place assignment service will be activated for a quota of 50%,
In April 2027, 100% of the accommodations/accommodation places will be assigned.

Economic estimate

The total amount expected for the intervention, to date, is equal to 2.781.300 euros, 850.845,60 of which will be covered by the contribution admitted and financed by the Lombardy Region. The Municipal Administration will undertake to find the remaining necessary resources.