The renovation, called the Pereda Project, entails investment of EUR 40 million, and will enhance the historical value and heritage of the buildings and create jobs. The Bank's institutional headquarters on Paseo Pereda will cease to be of exclusive use and will be opened to the city. The project envisions housing the private art collection of the Santander Group in the building, a Banco Santander Museum and the Group’s flagship branch of the future. The building on Calle Hernán Cortés will house the Cantabria Territorial Directorate and an observation deck on the terrace roof along with other multi-purpose rooms for customers and non-customers.
The Paseo Pereda building will be integrated into the city with cultural and open spaces which enhance the Bank’s legacy in the city of Santander and Cantabria and serve to attract tourists.
Over 1,000 works from the Group’s private collection, including paintings by Rubens, El Greco, Van Dyck, Picasso, Chillida, Sorolla and Miró and the world’s largest and most outstanding collection of works by José Gutiérrez Solana, which are currently exhibited in the Art Gallery of Santander Group City in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), are intended to be transported to Santander and displayed in the building, which will also exhibit sculptures and works of decorative art, collections of tapestries, ceramics, furniture and timepieces and a collection of banknotes and coins. The objective is to start educational and cultural activities for all age groups and allow visitors to enjoy the works of art in different settings.
The Pereda building will also house a Banco Santander Museum, where the visitor will be taken on a journey through the shared history of the Bank and the city.
The estimated period of execution of this project, which will turn these buildings into a cultural, intellectual and institutional reference of the city of Santander and Cantabria and that will contribute to favoring their economic and cultural progress, will be 20 months in the case of the building of Hernán Cortés street and 36 for the Paseo de Pereda. The forecast is that the works begin within approximately one year, once the corresponding municipal licenses have been obtained, and the investment will reach 60 million euros. During the execution of the works, in addition to having the collaboration of Cantabrian companies, it is estimated that an average of 150 people work on them. In addition, another 50 direct jobs will be created for the operation of both buildings.
