Casa History
History of the building site
The house we are building is situated a 6-minute walk from the METRO+, a bus on a free track. This was one of the most important considerations for the house/plot we should buy. Medellin had in 1940 150.000 inhabitants. In 2020 the central city had 2.0 million inhabitants and the metropolitan area had 3.5 million inhabitants. The traffic congestion is horrible. The metro is the only way to travel quickly through the city.
Medellin is enclosed in the valley of Aburra which means: little wind, though very dirty air, and no possibility of expanding housing. The residential building style is in my opinion horrific. Houses of 5-8m wide by 20 deep, 1-5 stories high. No ventilation or natural light inside is a common style. The citizens pay no attention to greenery. Solar/gardens are used to dump old bicycles and refrigerators. Near the central city, there are still neighborhoods, where it is possible to buy single-story traditional houses.
Near the central city, there are still neighborhoods, where it is possible to buy single-story traditional houses. These are often, deteriorated, single-story houses/plots. They come on the market when the aged owner dies and the heirs cannot agree on what to do with the house. Many of those plots have a quirk such as it is not allowed to build more than 12 meters deep because there used to be a stream. Or the soil is not stable.
I bought this house/lot in a working-class neighborhood. The owners had 15 years ago a approved design to convert the single-story house into a 3-story one. But possibly lacked the funds. So 8 heirs had to approve and sign the deed of sale. This house/plot does not have any hidden quirk.
