We share with you the transcription of the interview conducted by EMV with Arturo Natho on Monday, June 27. In what implies a change in the strategy they have been applying up to now and insisting that their objective is to work together with the Municipality of Viña del Mar and the neighborhood organizations, Empresas Copec wants its star real estate project – Las Salinas – to cease to be such and that, from now on, it should be understood as a process, susceptible to modifications and that it should be directed hand in hand with the ideas of Mayor Macarena Ripamonti. That is why the general manager of Las Salinas, Arturo Natho, emphasizes that the municipal administration is not an obstacle, but an opportunity. He invites the Municipality to be a bridge between the needs of the city, those of the neighbors and the idea that they have, to conclude the total remediation of the land and to advance in an urban project of a new type, which is committed to the essential conditions for the harmonic and sustainable development of Viña del Mar. – Because I have been in this process for twenty years. With the former mayor of Viña del Mar, Jorge Kaplan, we started the remediation process to make room for the city to continue; generating a new development pole. It was a land remediation process that took place between 2010 and 2012, which consisted of replacing a large part of the first meter of land, due to its high levels of contamination, in addition to the removal of underground facilities. From all that work, we removed 45,800 tons of waste. That is why it is important that I am the one who can directly transmit our current intentions, always maintaining the desire to build something valuable for Viña del Mar. – Time has changed and, probably, we have made mistakes in some things. In addition, the change of local authorities invites us to a process of dialogue that includes the community, which was not possible before. We wish to participate in this dialogue, and for this reason it seems very important to us to establish certain commitments at the environmental and urban levels. – There is an environmental impact study approved in the first instance-which has had some observations and therefore must be resolved by the Committee of Ministers-in which we use the best scientific standards, based on international and regional studies. We have to recognize that the academy in the Fifth Region has a level of international prestige in soil treatment and bioremediation. Based on this, the value and the commitment that we established in environmental matters is given, that is, to carry out with the greatest safety and complexity the cleanup of the Las Salinas area. – When we speak of urban commitment, it has to do with promoting the development of Las Salinas as the result of a public-private agreement, with the participation of the authorities and the community, for the benefit of all those involved. Echoing the call made by the mayoress, we find it very interesting to be able to participate in this joint development. We believe that the neighborhood should be on a human scale, with principles of sustainability, with a view to contributing to the community in general, and all this in a participatory process, led by the municipality, with the objective of agreeing on urban development conditions for the land.
In particular, as a first point that seems relevant to us, there is the need to agree on a height limit as a basic design for the area. – The fact is that there is no project as such. What we have proposed are different positions. There is a definition of streets; we have worked on the public space. And what is going to be built is something that, we deeply believe, has to be discussed with the municipality. One of the mistakes we have made is to talk about the project as if it were something already defined, when what we are looking for is to think about it with the municipality. – The interesting thing, more than talking about the project, is to think of Las Salinas as a process. It is to think about how we put together a process, which is the challenge we are committed to. How we will build this vision, this image, this possibility of wanting to make Las Salinas something truly valuable for the city. – The Municipality, it seems to us, is key. It is the one who should guide and act as a hinge in the conversations. That is to say, it should be the bridge and, at the same time, invite the participation of the different social actors in the design of Las Salinas. We believe that the role of the municipality is key in this. In all the projects we have seen around the world – visiting Barcelona, Hamburg or Malmö – the municipal perspective is fundamental, especially those that have a forward-looking and integrating perspective with the city. – The fact that these new municipal authorities are especially sensitive to dialogue, conversation and the search for agreements is an opportunity for us to work on this project together and with a long-term vision. – We believe that the announcement of the new PRC is in line with our purpose and effort. We even agree with the mayoress in emphasizing sustainability and the recovery of Viña del Mar’s identity. We think we are in agreement with the municipality. They can be parallel processes or we can build together and, even so, that vision of the city that we have should coincide with the Communal Regulatory Plan and what we do in this process in Las Salinas. -Processes take time, especially in city matters, which are complex and have multiple variables. None of this can be solved from one moment to the next. I am one of those who believe that things have to be given time. Our intention is to contribute to the city and, perhaps, we have not known how to manage it in a good way and that is what we are trying to correct. And that is why we want to work together with the Municipality and, hopefully, they can be the ones to guide the process to create, together with the neighbors, this space that we are looking for and that, we promise, will generate urban value. – The logic of having a large urban space was, for us, to generate a development pole with a high standard of sustainability, connectivity and linking the coastal area with the upper part of the city. In this sense, public spaces will play a fundamental role, since the quality of cities is played in them. Hence, the design of this entire project must generate a complete value for Viña del Mar.
We thought of these lands from a combination of different services, with their public spaces and green areas, which are fundamental. – Clearly the value will not only be for those who will be directly linked to the land, but the benefit will be total for the city as a whole. There has always been the expectation of how this land is able to articulate and generate some benefit for the whole city. How do we make Viña del Mar be built with nature but also in the generation of urban spaces that account for other needs of the city, such as transportation, housing, commerce, services or recreation. This project should be for the benefit and benefit of all the people of Viña del Mar.
