Vic City Council and the Hospital de la Santa Creu Foundation have begun the construction of 17 service homes for the elderly, a project with an investment of €2.3 million expected to be completed by spring 2027.
Machines are already working on the site of the annex to the Hospital de la Santa Creu in Vic. On July 15, the City Council and the Hospital de la Santa Creu Foundation kicked off the construction of the 17 service homes for the elderly, a project aimed at changing the way aging is understood in the city.
The initiative, which represents a €2.3 million investment, is jointly financed by the council and the foundation. The new accommodations will be located on the second floor of the hospital's annex building, covering an area of over 1,200 square metres. In total, there will be 13 individual homes and 4 double homes, designed under the concept of “living like at home,” but with the support of complementary services such as hospitality, physiotherapy, nutrition, and community activities.
A person-centred model
The service homes are created with the aim of ensuring that elderly people and those in situations of loneliness can continue to live with as much autonomy as possible, in a safe environment connected to the community. In Vic, where the elderly population grows year after year, this model presents itself as an alternative between living at home and assisted living.
“We want elderly people to maintain control over their daily lives,” municipal sources explain. The project emphasises dignity and autonomy, understanding aging not as a limitation but as a stage that deserves to be lived fully. The services will be tailored to the needs of each resident, with a multidisciplinary team that includes physiotherapists and nutritionists.
Construction in a sensitive environment
Given the complexity of the construction in an active hospital environment in the city centre, the City Council and the FHSC have designed a plan to minimise disruptions. For the next 14 months, access via the hospital ramp will be restricted to vehicles for safety reasons. On Saturday, July 25, one of the most significant actions will take place: the assembly of the tower crane, a process that will last about 12 hours and will involve temporary occupation of the public road.
“We have worked to ensure the impact is as minimal as possible,” the council assures. Local residents will have to coexist with the construction, but the City Council is committed to keeping them promptly informed of any disruptions. The forecast is that the homes will be inaugurated in spring 2027.
A demographic challenge to face
Catalonia, like the rest of Europe, faces a significant increase in the elderly population in the coming decades. In Vic, this trend is already noticeable: there are more and more people living alone who need support to remain autonomous. The service homes are an innovative response to this reality, and the city is becoming a pioneer in applying this model.
The Hospital de la Santa Creu Foundation in Vic, with a long history of caring for the elderly, and the City Council have joined forces to make a future-oriented solution a reality. “It’s not just about building houses, but about creating community,” they summarised during the project presentation. The 17 homes will be the core of an environment where elderly people can live with dignity, without giving up their independence.
For the residents of Vic, this project represents a clear commitment to active and healthy aging. Meanwhile, the construction progresses: the sound of the machines is the prelude to a change that, if all goes well, will materialise in just over two years.
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