The 21st century does not seem to have arrived at Flanades. The shopping center, built in the 1980s in the heart of the Grand Ensemble of Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise), still seems timeless. In cruel lack of modernity and dynamism.
This dilapidated aspect, these dark sparse alleys, this cold light, this crooked roof with the framework of green iron bars, this retro facade, these businesses resembling more convenience stores than signs in a shopping arcade… ” It’s a bit of a cockroach atmosphere when you come here, laughs Serge, 77 years old. In the twenty years that I have lived here, it has not changed, it has even deteriorated rather… It must be renovated, otherwise it will die slowly. “
The mayor (PS) of Sarcelles, Patrick Haddad, shares this opinion. “The center has lived in its current form,” he argues. With the arrival of MyPlace, there is no room for two major shopping centers. The concept must be reviewed in depth. “
“Break the galleries” because the place is no longer profitable
The Flanades are dead, long live the Flanades. “We continue to work, as best we can, tempers Elie, a trader since the opening of the center. We barely manage to pay the rent and the charges. Obviously, we would all like a renovation to bring life back! »A rehabilitation project does exist. The owner, the Company of Parisian buildings (CIP) of which billionaire Xavier Niel is the shareholder, worked on it. In connection with the city.
“The idea is to break the galleries, open the center to the outside, so that it becomes a pedestrianized shopping city center,” indicates Patrick Haddad. The Flanades would regain their original form, without a roof. This new physiognomy would revitalize the place and solve the problems of charges. The costs of guarding or upgrading weigh heavily on the finances of traders and co-owners in view of the activity in constant decline. In fact, the question of profitability arises.
A digital hub to attract private funds
At least a third of the stores have already the curtain drawn. In the future, the commercial presence would therefore be revised downwards in the future project, to diversify the activities. The municipality would thus like to create a large “pole of economic development, higher education and digital technology”. “It would resonate with its environment. We have the media library next door and the IUT, notes the mayor. It will create an ecosystem. “
The complete renovation would cost around 35 million euros according to initial estimates. The budget, very substantial, could be closed – about two-thirds – thanks to the CIP, visibly inclined to invest to restore value to the property. The other part could be paid by the National Agency for Urban Renewal (Anru). “We are going to present our project for an economic and digital hub in particular,” says Patrick Haddad.
To remake a place of life
“First, I feel like it all came out of the hat, I don’t know how long it has been around, we had never heard of it. I have the impression that everything is done in haste, I do not really understand, the deputy (MoDem) and ex-mayor François Pupponi is surprised. Above all, I myself launched the idea of renovating the Flanades, by presenting it at Anru. The mayor says he will do it later. I think this is a mistake! “
Finally, the Flanades of the future should welcome a kind of “place of life” on the parts belonging to the municipality, the mayor echoed this at the last municipal council. In this case, the five cinemas in the center – stuffed with asbestos and abandoned – owned by the city for twenty years.
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A tour of the news of Val-d’Oise and the IDF
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A “Factory” of urban culture talents should emerge there, under the leadership of Eric Checco, founder of Urban Peace in particular, and municipal councilor responsible for urban cultures.
Mobilize dedicated public funds east of Val-d’Oise
The mayor is also leading a “reflection” to establish a municipal health center. “Sarcelles is not a medical desert, liberal medicine is doing very well in our city, which is why I had never carried such projects when I was mayor, supports François Pupponi. I do not see the point of creating a municipal center, if it is to siphon off the Liberal clientele… ”
Here again, the ideas remain to be funded. The city intends to rely on various subsidies, either via Anru, or the Recovery Plan, or the envelope granted by the State for the territory after the abandonment of EuropaCity.
” There are many possibilities. We are finalizing our projects, before asking the public authorities, underlines Patrick Haddad. We are hopeful that this will all be successful. On the other hand, we should not hope to stroll through the “new-look” Flanades anytime soon. This “very large mandate file”, as defined by the mayor, will take several years to complete.
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