Bye bye the beautiful mansions in the heart of the 7th arrondissement in Paris. The Ile-de-France regional council is making the big difference by choosing to set up in Seine-Saint-Denis, in Saint-Ouen. This Friday, the LR president of the regional council Valérie Pécresse formalized the news, under the gold of the current headquarters, rue Barbet-de-Jouy. “I have ruled out all the sites in the Hauts-de-Seine,” she says. “We even eliminated Maisons-Alfort (Val-de-Marne) where I had my political friends,” she adds.
It is on a former communist bastion, delighted by a centrist mayor in 2014, William Delannoy (UDI) that she finally set her sights. A choice which, she underlines, results from a collective process: “The agents proceeded by referendum. “Thirty-seven sites were initially screened. In May, there were only three finalists left: Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne).
Paris, this Friday. Valérie Pécresse unveiled the site of the new headquarters in the region. “I have ruled out all the Hauts-de-Seine sites,” she said. (LP / NR)
While passing the periphery, the future seat saves its public funds. The rent for the eleven Parisian buildings amounted to more than € 30 million per year. In Seine-Saint-Denis, the regional council will reduce the score by 31%. As a bonus, the region, owner of seven buildings in the 7th arrondissement, hopes to “sell most of it”. The land has been estimated at € 250 million.
The financial aspect was not the only determining criterion. Saint-Ouen made the difference because of its accessibility and the speed of delivery of the premises. It was also the only project to fit into a building under construction, and fit into the heart of the city. The new head office is located 200 m from the Mairie de Saint-Ouen metro station, on line 13, the same which serves the Parisian premises. In 2019, there will also be line 14.
The two buildings, baptized Influence and Influence 2.0, will be profiled by Jacques Ferrier, the architect of the France pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. Connected by a footbridge, the two entities will meet the latest environmental and technological standards with the possibility of extension. A car park with 525 spaces for cars, a carpooling area and 280 spaces for bicycles will be reserved for some 2,000 employees.
