Covid-19 has not prevailed on the Marcel Paul urban project, which consists of building housing and creating spaces for nature on the former site of the management of Enedis and Engie, in the Porte Dauphine district. But the pandemic on the one hand, and the successive adjustments then, will have required three years of studies and meetings with local residents to culminate in the presentation, next Thursday…
Covid-19 has not prevailed on the Marcel Paul urban project, which consists of building housing and creating spaces for nature on the former site of the management of Enedis and Engie, in the Porte Dauphine district. But the pandemic on the one hand, and the successive adjustments then, will have required three years of studies and meetings with local residents to culminate in the presentation, next Thursday, December 7, in the Oratory Hall, of the final approval of the a priori version. of the project led by Vinci Immobilier and closely monitored by the city of La Rochelle and the urban community of La Rochelle.
In addition to 280 homes, the developer initially wanted to build a senior housing facility with 92 homes. In May 2022, the town hall said no, because it judged that the district was sufficiently equipped with this type of housing, which mainly attracts an older population from outside.
A public square in the northwest of the country will see the light of day.
Vinci Real Estate
25 preserved lime trees
Can be better then. Especially since it was a matter of preserving only 15 of the 46 lime trees on the site occupied until 1961 by a gas factory with soil-polluting activities (hydrocarbons and cyanide).
Currently, 25 lime trees are planned to be preserved. 77 trees would also be planted on the 1.1 hectare plot, including 21 tall trees. A publicly accessible square in the northwest of the country, without barriers and consisting of 15 lime trees, will see the light of day. As well as two mini-forests, lawns with trees, communal gardens in addition to the private gardens of the grouped individual houses.
The architect Florian Faye presented the model of the project to the curious, before the start of the meeting in the Oratory.
Romuald Augé/ SOUTHWEST
The landscape architect Barthélémy Schlumberger thus proposes “52% of the vegetated space”, while today there is less than 10% and 30% in open ground (without buildings in the basement) for the infiltration of rainwater versus 9%. This would allow the vegetation to capture more CO2 and can form a significant “island of cool” in the city during heat waves. That doesn’t stop a lady from worrying about a future fumigation that she fears will be only partial or unsuccessful.
Active young people
On the building side, the 1970s office building would be retained, expanded and rehabilitated to accommodate students. With expansion of the underground parking garage to 194 spaces. Six places on the surface are also planned. Another building, run by the Housing Agency, focuses on “young professionals under 30 years old,” whether they are students, interns or employees. 56 accommodations are reserved for them.
Social, affordable, free housing (sold at market price) and local housing for bicycles (329 places) complete a whole in which companies will have windows on the ground floor. spaces between public and private.
A carefully thought-out program welcomed by both Vinci’s representative and elected officials. “We start from an industrial site with a somewhat difficult past to arrive at an urban project that meets the expectations of the residents of Rochelle,” says Sylvain Dardenne, deputy mayor in charge of urban planning.