Gathered at the end of the week on site, as part of the consultation phase, Ajacciens expressed their feelings and their ideas for the Miséricorde site. With central concerns, such as integration into the city center and the preservation of the site’s identity
The first draw is still a long way off, according to Ametarra SPL director Sophie Boyer de la Giroday. But before theeco-neighborhood from Mercy does not see the light of day Ajaccioit is still necessary to know what to do with these 9 hectares located a few minutes from the heart of the city, and over which they offer an unobstructed view.
What to do with the buildings that dot the site? Lush vegetation that grows on its heights? How to improve access to the district? These are all questions that participants in the citizen consultation organized by the SPL are invited to ask themselves.
ALSO READ. They make the Padduc of the cemeteries
Four diagnostic walks took place at the end of last week, to bring out some ideas around the sector’s neuralgic points, such as the hospital of course, but also the large car park for hospital staff, the morgue or the crèche.
A strong stake for the city, even if less than ten people participated in the stroll this Saturday morning, against fifteen the day before. Not enough to worry Maxime Duval, from the Stratéact firm, which organizes the consultation phase on behalf of the SPL. “At this stage, it is more the qualitative aspect that prevails, than the quantitative”he assures.
If everyone goes with their design, three aspects seem to take precedence in the debate: the accessibility of the site, the preservation of an identity and the strengthening of its attractiveness.
The future of the hospital
An attractiveness that goes through the installation of facilities, public or not. Gathered on the paved square which serves as a car park, opposite the nursery, the small team wonders: what to do with this place? “Today everything is in Baleone”, laments Pauline who pleads for leisure and cultural infrastructures. His companion Anthony would rather see a training establishment “in aeronautics or renewable energies”. Why not a sports infrastructure? “I learned yesterday that there was a football field there before”, laughs Sophie Boyer from the Giroday. A facility that had the advantage of bringing children from surrounding areas, which made it an inter-district meeting point.
According to the director of the SPL, the president of the citizens’ council of the Jardins de l’Empereur has also submitted the idea of creating a new school to replace the one in the Emperor’s district which “works badly” and would be subject to “stigma”. All these ideas are not a priori irreconcilable for the SPL which insists on the principle of “programmatic mix”namely the installation of different and complementary facilities (offices, housing, shops), capable of bringing the district to life on a permanent basis.
The question of housing is obviously central. “It must remain main residences”anticipates the director. “We will be very attentive to it”insists Jean-François Casalta, who participated in one of the consultation marches and that Corse-Matin has contacted.
Like the director of the SPL, the elected municipal opposition member pleads for the use of certain devices such as the real solidarity lease, which makes it possible to promote access to property for low-income households while controlling the resale price and therefore speculative risk.
Develop the district, while retaining part of its identity. This is the dilemma that project leaders will face and the beginnings of which are already showing. The future of the hospital and its 13,600 m² of floor space is at the heart of the project. According to Sophie Boyer of Giroday, the oldest part of the building, which dates from the 1950s, should be preserved. “We were told about the architectural value of the building, the financial and ecological cost that its destruction would represent, which we can completely understand. But there is still a striking contrast between the beauty of the site and the ugliness of the building”Judge Jean-François Casalta, who would like to “cut the bar effect”, following the example of the Mancini bar, which was partially demolished in 2018. The fact remains that in everyone’s opinion, one of the guiding principles will be to make the existing building profitable so as not to encroach on permeable soils. It will also be necessary to preserve and enhance the green spaces and certain wooded paths, in particular the Chemin de l’Olivetto, which connects the Avenue de la Liberation, not far from the Caf. “What I like here is that there are lots of roads that converge, I would like it to stay well connected”explains Marie, who lives in a neighboring building.
It is perhaps accessibility to the future eco-district, its integration into the city center, which seems to matter most to the participants. Because even located about ten minutes from the heart of the city, the attractiveness of the district comes up against a double pitfall: the steep slope of the site, which can prove discouraging for mentalities already reluctant to walk and whose attachment to the individual vehicle does not seem to want to decline. Already, several solutions have been mentioned, such as the installation of an escalator or a funicular to reach the lower town. Shuttle rotations are also planned
Preserving the identity of the site, while strengthening its integration into the city centre, that is the challenge of the future project. Saturday, not far from the decrepit boarding school, sheltered from the sun by an olive tree, Anthony concluded the walk. “People here have to say: I’m from Ajaccio and Mercy“.
–
