The MARE project was officially presented to the public yesterday, a 48k square meter project that will become a hub of medical technology, hosting a thousand people while preserving much of what remains of the former Ospedale al Mare in form and in spirit.
20 April 2023
After the acceptance of the binding offer to purchase the area of the ex-Ospedale al Mare del Lido by CDP Real Asset SGR last year, MARE, a project commissioned and promoted by German entrepreneur Frank Gotthardt, has now been officially presented to the public of Venice.
The area aims to become a technology hub for attracting international talent, investment and businesses, promoting cooperation between universities, researchers, start-ups and companies. The technology park will focus on development, implementation and promotion of innovative applications based on artificial intelligence for the medical sector.
The project, situated near the Nicelli airport, will repurpose an area of 48,000 sq. meters with respect for the ecosystem, sustainability and conservation criteria. The campus will host around 1,000 researchers and employees, offering residential structures, restaurants and a nursery school.
The redevelopment of the historic area will strengthen the local economy, create jobs and restore iconic locations such as the Teatro Marinoni and the Church of Santa Maria Nascente to public use.
What’s more, the zoning variation calls for abandoning building plans for the 12,000 sq. meter Favorita area that have been on the books since 2012. The area will instead be used for public green spaces equipped with game and sports equipment.
The project was presented at Ca’ Farsetti, in a meeting that included Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, the Real Estate Manager and Chief Executive from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Real Asset SGR Giancarlo Scotti, and Frank Gotthardt, the founder and chairman of CompuGroup Medical.
Frank Gottthardt himself imagines MARE as “a vibrant ecosystem for the digital healthcare industry”. “I have dedicated all my life to research and to the development of the most innovative technologies to support healthcare workers and guarantee better health conditions for people, because I firmly believe that the correct medical information, in the right place at the right time, can save lives, prevent suffering and help to cure illnesses”. He continued, “This is the vision that produced the idea of a Health Technopark in which companies, startups and researchers can collaborate for the future and for people’s health. In the 1930s, the Ospedale al Mare cured thousands of people every year; soon MARE will allow it to improve health and offer new possibilities for cures to millions of people around the world”.
“Consistent with the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan”, explained Giancarlo Scotti, Real Estate Manager of CDP and Chief Executive of CDP Real Asset SGR, “the objective of CDP’s regional interventions is aimed at fostering urban regeneration by promoting initiatives with positive effects on the socio-economic context. The redevelopment of the former Ospedale al Mare represents a concrete example of this activity, which, through an important recovery operation, will give new life to an abandoned structure of public origin, with respect for the original vocation of the complex”.
“The Venetian healthcare authority, together with the municipal administration, are carefully following the developments regarding the area of the ex-Ospedale al Mare, which are particularly important for the community of Lido. The priority of ULSS 3 Serenissima is to maintain the quality of healthcare services currently offered to the citizens, and to enhance them according to the provisions of the PNRR (DM77), which also calls for the building of the Casa della Communità for Lido di Venezia,” clarified the General Director of ULSS 3 Serenissima, Edgardo Contato, “at the same time, the healthcare Authority is in constant dialogue with the civic administration, available to evaluate any projects that may materialize, when these present as alternatives or improvements compared to current solutions”.
Maryor Brugnaro concluded, adding “This is a project aimed at the conservation and enhancement of the [existing] structures, and which will guarantee not only the preservation of the Monobloc and the services it once offered, but also the possibility, in the near future, of maintaining and enhancing them within an even more modern and functional structure”.
Source: La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre
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