We made it this time. The construction project for the new Chartrexpo, launched by the municipality in 2011, with the choice of a first architect, eleven years later, in its very real part: the first shovels were given a few days.
“The earthworks have started and should continue until the end of the summer”, announced Karine Dorange, vice-president of Chartres metropolis, in charge of major equipment. “The cranes must then arrive on site at the start of the school year, at the beginning of September, for eighteen months of work. »
Opening in eighteen months
“The future exhibition center project responds to a multitude of improvements in order to provide the city of Chartres and its agglomeration with a modern tool adapted to the current and future needs of the profession”, underlines the elected Chartres.
The future facility will be erected on a plot of approximately 18 ha, located opposite the aerodrome, near the reception area for travellers, not far from the motorway interchange.
Jean-Pierre Gorges, mayor of Chartres, gives an update on the project for the future exhibition center
Currently, Chartrexpo, rue Jean-Mermoz, is made up of three interlocking rooms with a surface area of 6,500 m². “The future Chartrexpo will form a large exhibition hall of 10,000 m², divisible into three parts which can be operated independently, thanks to the presence of removable or shared acoustic partitions”, underlines Karine Dorange.
“Depending on the configuration, we can offer spaces whose size will be adapted to the needs of the different event organizers,” she adds. The total area will allow, for example, a major event such as the Artisanales de Chartres to take place without renting additional tents, as is the case today.
A reception hall will serve each hall independently and will house the operator’s offices. The architect, Rudy Rioccitti, author of the façade of the Les Enfants du Paradis cinema, has also planned a 500 m² panoramic restaurant upstairs, with a view of the cathedral.
Chartrexpo celebrates its 30th anniversary today
The exterior appearance will be a bit revised. The concrete drape will be thinner than what was drawn beforehand. Skylights have been added, while the building will be able to accommodate photovoltaic panels on the facade. An amending building permit has been filed and should be validated at the end of the year for these small modifications, according to the elected official.
The overall cost of the investment for this project is estimated at 33 million euros, financed in equal parts by Chartres Métropole, by the release of land from the current Chartrexpo and by the financial income linked to the activity of the future. Chartrexpo.
Francois Feuilleux
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