While Gaudí was finishing the construction of the Episcopal Palace of Astorga, his friend and patron, Eusebi Güell recommended that he build a house in the center of León. Simón Fernández and Mariano Andrés, the owners of a company that bought fabrics from Güell, commissioned Gaudí to build a residential building with a warehouse. The house's nickname comes from the last name of the company's former owner, Joan Homs i Botinàs.

In 1929, the savings bank of León, Caja España, bought the building and adapted it to its needs, without altering Gaudí's original project. In 2010 the bank merged with other similar institutions as part of Spain's response to the economic crisis.