Former restaurant of the famous singer becomes youth center for Fuengirola

Isabel Pantoja's arrival in Fuengirola and the subsequent opening of her restaurant Cantora caused a great deal of excitement in 2001. For a while, people from all over the world came to the restaurant because they admired the singer or simply because of the rumours that circulated about her. In fact, business was booming, or at least it seemed that way, because shortly after the opening, her son Kiko Rivera opened another shop nearby: Cantora Kopas.

Both premises were neither purchased nor rented, but were granted by the town hall itself to companies associated with the popular family under a non-renewable concession for a period of 25 years.

Cantora's boom faded after a few years, and in 2005 the building was closed. An Asian restaurant chain moved in and stayed there for almost two decades, but last year it closed its doors and the building fell into disrepair. Today you can see clothes hanging in the windows, a sign that despite the decay, people still live there.

In the case of Cantora Kopas, the business eventually passed through the hands of various tenants who converted the spaces into discotheques and bars, mainly for nightlife. But the fate was the same, as this establishment also eventually closed its doors.

Both concessions have already been rescued by the Fuengirola City Council, according to municipal sources. This means that the buildings are now at the disposal of the City Council, which has just announced the launch of one of its flagship projects for this legislative period in one of the two buildings.

It is the construction of a youth centre that will be integrated into the area that the city council calls “Área Libre Fuengirola”, a 230,000 square metre area that includes the Sohail Castle, the Marenostrum complex, the river park, the skate park, the calisthenics and parkour areas and the new natural park.

The tendering process for the redevelopment of the site has already started and five companies from the construction industry have submitted offers with the aim of starting work this year.

As the mayor of the city, Ana Mula, explained during the presentation of the project, the design of the new youth center took into account the suggestions of over 70 young people from the community who submitted more than a hundred ideas for the facilities.

Gaming and robotics rooms

The project envisages an interior area of ​​more than 550 square meters, consisting of a large multipurpose room with leisure areas, a restaurant area and a stage for concerts or shows, as well as the “Crea” room, where training meetings or conventions will be held in different areas. There will also be a games room, a board games room, a robotics room, as well as an outdoor terrace of just over 300 square meters equipped with chairs and picnic tables, as well as a small amphitheater where small performances can be held or videos or films can be projected.

The municipal investment foreseen for this measure amounts to EUR 1.7 million, which will be financed from the surplus of the municipal budget year 2023. The initial execution period foreseen in the specifications is 240 days.