The project consists in the construction of the New Urban Centre in the city of Scandicci, which runs along the T1 line of the tramway and connects the first Italian inter-modal car park on the motorway, the most important production centre in Europe for luxury goods and leather goods, with the centre of Florence. The project, designed by architect Richard Rogers, includes residential, business and tourist destinations.
The objective of the project is to complete the urban fabric of the City of Scandicci through the construction of the New Centre that runs along the tramway axis that connects Scandicci to Florence. The tramway, inaugurated on 14.02.2010, is now used by about 21 million passengers/year. At its terminus, Villa Costanza, Autostrade per l’Italia has created the first Italian inter-modal car park, directly at the motorway, which allows you to leave your car and take the tram without leaving the ordinary road network. This infrastructural mix has made Scandicci the main gateway to the city of Florence. The urban completion project anticipates a wide and varied mix of functions, mainly offices and service, commercial, as well as residential. There are also two tourist accommodation facilities and a reserved area for student accommodations. It is important to underline the presence in the area of two existing structures related to vocational training in the fashion industry, such as Polimoda and MITA, which every year train hundreds of students from around the world, who find immediate employment in the sector. The heart of the project is the creation of a large urban park (about 10 hectares) that will not be a residual area compared to the built-up area, but a planned, integrated and vital reality of urban design. The development of the area includes the following uses: Tourism (11,700 m²), Residential (42,600 m²), Commercial (14,000 m²), Offices (46,179 m²) and Student House (12,200 m²).
The different areas of urban development are the property of the municipality (Area: TR04b and portion E of TR04c), therefore subject to public auction; private ownership ( Area: TR04a, part of TR04c and TR04d), therefore subject to direct negotiation; in bankruptcy proceedings (Area:TR04c), therefore subject to public auction.
The areas that are part of the project are located along the route of the T1 tramway that connects Scandicci with the centre of Florence, the railway station of Santa Maria Novella, the Hospital of Careggi and the A. Vespucci Airport. At the Scandicci terminus, Autostrade per l’Italia has created the first inter-modal car park in Italy, on the motorway (A1 MilanRome), which allows for the interchange of cars and trams without leaving the motorway. The car park is also a tourist and long-distance bus stop (Flixbus, etc.). Less than 1 km away is the “Firenze – Scandicci” junction of the A1 Milan-Rome and the Scandicci junction of the S.G.C. Florence – Pisa – Livorno.