This is a new episode in the long history of the castle of Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise). The former Blue Cedar retirement home partly bought by the town hall will be rehabilitated to become a vast socio-cultural center. The work, worth 6 million euros, will begin in the coming weeks.
Built at the beginning of the XIXe century, the castle of Sarcelles had several lives. Residence of the orientalist Count Volney, then taken over by the Spanish order of the Blessed Sacrament, the building became state property after 1905. The Paris City Hall inherited the place 30 years later, and made it a retirement. Having become dilapidated, the nursing home, once headed by the former mayor and deputy of Sarcelles Raymond Lamontagne, closed its doors for good in 2015.
A place open to residents
Since then, the city of Sarcelles has been fighting to recover the property and develop cultural infrastructure there. But it was first the Public Land Establishment of IDF (Epfif) which bought the place for 12 million euros from the social action center of the city of Paris. The municipality manages to buy part of the site from the Epfif including the castle, the chapel, the staff accommodation and two parks, for 5 million euros. “It is an emblematic place from which the Sarcellois have benefited very little, but within two years it will be open to the public”, underlines Patrick Haddad, the mayor (PS) of Sarcelles.
In order to open the place to the inhabitants, the town hall entrusted the development of the space of 3,000 square meters on five levels to the architectural firm Patrick Mauger. An auditorium, an annex of the art school dedicated to sculpture, but also a cinema incubator and a media library will be installed. “The staff accommodation will be dedicated to associations focused on art, the preservation of the environment and professional integration”, specifies Patrick Haddad. “These are extensions of the equipment that we have on the Grand Ensemble of Sarcelles but that we did not have on the village”, he adds.
The operation – acquisition and rehabilitation included – amounts to 11 million euros and benefits from financial aid from local authorities, the regional directorate for cultural affairs, the recovery plan and the European Feder fund.
An eco-district soon to be in place
The other part of the site, worth 7 million euros, was out of reach for the municipality’s projects. Too expensive, the acquisition and development were entrusted to the Lamotte Group and Espace 2. In accordance with the wishes of the town hall, a student residence with 115 apartments, a senior residence with 130 apartments, as well as a health center and a crèche will be set up.
“We decided to entrust the development of this site to a third-party operator who would acquire it, but we had to add housing for it to be profitable”, explains Patrick Haddad. Thus, it is a real eco-neighborhood of 5 hectares that will come out of the ground. Of the 30,000 square meters of living space, 200 housing units for home ownership, participatory housing and real solidarity leases will be built. Around twenty “Soho” housing units, that is to say apartments directly connected to offices, intended for the liberal professions, will also be installed.
Place of refuge for exiles
Pending the start of work, planned by the end of the year, the site will continue to temporarily accommodate exiles. While the Blue Cedar is requisitioned to receive migrants evacuated from Parisian camps since 2015, it is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict with Russia. The site, managed by the association France horizon, mandated by the State, can accommodate up to 150 people. “The Ukrainian Jewish community has links here, Sarcelles is a global city! », underlines Patrick Haddad, recently contacted by associations. The remaining places can be reserved for them. “It is possible that the Blue Cedar will also serve as a departmental day center with social activities”, specifies the city councilor.
Currently, about 80 people, mostly single men from Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan occupy the site, awaiting a change of status or an upcoming migratory destination. In any case, by December 2022, the exiles will be evacuated to other places, probably outside the city.
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