Mexico City Pauses Social Housing Work at Inglaterra 70 in Coyoacán
Mexico City suspended social housing work at Inglaterra 70 in Coyoacán after neighbors objected. The talks, the fallen tree and what comes next.
Mexico City’s housing authorities have temporarily stopped construction on a social housing project at Inglaterra 70 in the Parque San Andrés neighborhood of Coyoacán after residents objected to it. Verification officials placed suspension seals on the site, and the city says the pause will make room for a series of dialogue sessions with neighbors.
The decision came a day after a tree fell on the property in the early hours of Thursday, Nov. 5, damaging the building next door, according to El Universal. Animal Político reported the suspension on Nov. 6.
Who agreed to stop the work
The Instituto de Vivienda (INVI), the city’s housing institute, made the call together with the group of future residents who will receive the apartments and the Coyoacán borough government, the Secretaría de Vivienda (Mexico City’s housing ministry) said in a statement. Officials said they acted after hearing the concerns neighbors raised. Animal Político reported that residents had spoken out publicly against the development.
According to the ministry, the sessions are meant to answer questions, hear complaints from the neighborhood and look at the options for developing the project, with all the parties involved at the table. The seals went up by agreement with the relevant verification authorities as a preventive step, so the talks can run their course and end in agreements.
City says the project follows the rules
The housing ministry says the project was designed in strict compliance with current regulations and that no work was done without the required permits. Excélsior and Animal Político listed the laws the city cited: the Ley de Desarrollo Urbano (urban development law), the Reglamento de Construcciones (building code), the Ley de Vivienda (housing law) and the Ley Ambiental de la Ciudad de México (the city’s environmental law). Excélsior’s list also included INVI’s own operating rules.
Even so, officials decided to put mutual understanding first, Excélsior reported.
What happened with the fallen tree
The ministry said the tree was not cut down on purpose and that its fall did not come from any work done outside the rules. Together with the city’s environmental authorities, it will decide which restitution and environmental remediation measures apply.
What it means for Coyoacán residents
For neighbors in Parque San Andrés, work at Inglaterra 70 is stopped and the site is sealed while the talks take place. No date for the sessions or for a restart has been disclosed.
For the families in the beneficiary group, the pause puts their future homes on hold. The ministry repeated its commitment to widening access to adequate, affordable, good-quality housing in every neighborhood of the city. Animal Político reported the ministry as saying social housing is a priority for the city government, though it has to be built within the law and with openness to talks with neighborhood representatives.
What happens next
The next step is the round of dialogue sessions among INVI, the Coyoacán borough, the beneficiary group, neighbors and the other parties. The city has not said when they will start or how long the suspension will last. Environmental authorities will also set the restitution measures for the fallen tree.
Sources: El Universal, Excélsior, grupoanimal
