The City Council of Valencia has found a formula to settle its debt for the construction of the Formula 1 street circuit without moving a single euro from the municipal coffers. The Urban Planning department has valued the works carried out on the track at 21.3 million euros, considering them urbanistically useful. This amount will be passed on to the owners of the Grao PAI through the transfer of land, thus avoiding a direct outflow of public funds.
How the urban planning compensation is applied to the circuit layout 🏗️
The mechanism is based on considering the circuit works as urbanization charges. According to technicians, elements such as paving, drainage, or underground pipelines have real utility for the development of the PAI. By passing this cost on to the landowners, the council avoids a direct outlay. The valuation of 21.3 million has been carried out through an expert report detailing which items are usable and which are not, establishing a compensation model that other municipalities could replicate.
F1 is paid for with plots, like renting an apartment 😅
Who would have told the Grao owners that their plot would end up paying for the whim of setting up an F1 circuit. Now it turns out that the asphalt of turn 4 is an urban improvement and that the chicane curb is a neighborhood infrastructure. Next thing you know, the podium will count as a children's play area and the pit boxes as resident parking. Good thing the city council isn't paying, because if it were, they might even ask for a guarantee.