New Botín Center draws criticism




The Botín Center (Centro Botín), an €80 million ($108 million) auditorium and art gallery being built in the Spanish port city of Santander, is being criticized by some residents who say the building will dominate the view,

Bloomberg reported.


The center is a project of the Botín Foundation, founded in 1964 by the uncle of Emilio Botín, 79, chairman of Banco Santander SA. The foundation's activities are funded by dividend income from its 0.89% stake in Santandar, the Bloomberg article said.


Oscar Manteca, spokesman for a group called Platform in Defense of the Bay, told Bloomberg, “My personal opinion is that he [Emilio Botín] treats Santander like his own personal estate. He's a multimillionaire and he thinks he's the big chieftain and that the city belongs to him.” Opponents have noted that the new center will jut out into the bay and dominate the shorefront, the article said.


Botín has estimate that construction of the center would generate 1,400 jobs and that the completed center would have a staff of 650 and attract 200,000 visitors a year, the Bloomberg article said.

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Banco Santander was founded 157 years ago. Rafael Botín Aguirre, brother of Emilio Botín's great-grandfather, was named managing director in 1895. Emilio Botín became chairman of the bank in 1986, the article said.


The Botín family donated “El Promontorio,” their residence in Santander, to the family foundation in 2006, the article said. (Source: Bloomberg, July 22, 2014.)

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