The address is beautiful, the building is even more so. At 98, quai de la Rapée, in the 12th arrondissement, the Paris municipality launched this Monday, January 3, work to transform old offices into 71 social housing units.
“It is a Haussmannian building which dates from the end of the 19th century and which housed the Hotel Méditerranée”, explains Ian Brossat, deputy (PCF) at the town hall of Paris in charge of housing.
The elected official explains that this “magnificent corner building” then became the property of the City of Paris in 1920.
Since then, until 2017, it has hosted the headquarters of the Heritage and Architecture Department (DPA) as well as the Vianey rooms, which were rented for events.
From studios to 4 rooms
A place that the Paris municipality now wants to free up for social housing, says Ian Brossat, who on Monday laid the symbolic foundation stone of this new real estate project.
This program should make it possible to deliver 71 new housing units produced by Elogie-Siemp – ranging from studios of 35 square meters to 4-room apartments of 85 m2 – by spring 2023, for rents ranging between 210 and 385 euros for a studio and up to 510 and 935 euros for a 4-room apartment.
Of the 6,800 square meters of the building, 4,500 will be transformed into affordable housing for low-income families. “There is a real desire on the part of the City of Paris to develop the transformation of office buildings into housing as part of the reorganization of its services,” says Ian Brossat. In total, according to the elected, 350,000 square meters of offices were thus transformed “in intramural Paris” during the last term of office, and this, while the commitment over the period aimed at “250,000 square meters”. But not only offices belonging to the town hall.
“Our conviction today is that we can do more”, adds Ian Brossat, who assures us that “the needs for offices will decrease” while “the potential for transformation will grow” in particular with “the development of telework”. “It is important that the City of Paris sets an example on its own buildings, especially when possible and that it no longer has the use of them”, estimates the one who occupies the post of Parisian deputy to the housing for more than seven years now.
Other similar operations have also been launched, such as that of the Morland tower, located in the 4th arrondissement and which until recently housed the services of the Town planning department. Currently under construction, it must be completely rehabilitated by Emerige and will accommodate, among other things, more than 150 social housing units, as part of Réinventer Paris. “Not having to pay for land, that makes things easier,” concluded Ian Brossat.