Zac Meilbourg, a good location?
High on his roadmap, the development of post-baccalaureate courses has become a priority for Pierre Cuny. Between the scheduled launch of a first year of law on the Cormontaigne campus, the hoped-for opening of a business and engineering school, a DTS in medical imaging or even three Bachelor courses at La Briquerie, the territory will be faced with an influx of students. To promote “their sedentarization”, as the president points out, the agglomeration has embarked on a race for housing.
It is with this in mind that it voted on the sale of land located on Zac Meilbourg to the Habiter group. The developer undertakes to build two 95-unit buildings as an extension of the “Meilbourg One” building and the future “Meilbourg Two” building. A new habitat intended for students and young workers.
“I am against this deliberation”, says Olivier Postal. The 2e vice-president of the agglomeration wonders about the location: “It seems to me inappropriate, in terms of development, to create a student residence at the edge of the motorway. It would seem to me more judicious to opt for the city center or near the station. “The elected socialist Brigitte Vaïsse shares her point of view: “The vocation of a Zac is to create economic activity. “Sandrine Jean, opposition councilor in Thionville, also doubts the location: “In the city center, it would have brought attractiveness. “Pierre Cuny also consents to a certain skepticism at the genesis of the project:” I was skeptical until I went there with Clémence Pouget. Between these buildings and the campus, it’s only a four-minute walk. And with the future bridge that will connect Cormontaigne and Thionville station, it will take less than two minutes to get to the city center. »
–
The right price for the land?
After the geographical positioning, Olivier Postal calls into question the economic dimension of the project: “At first, the price per m² was €220 excluding tax. I insisted on increasing it, it’s a premium land on the side of the highway. It rose to €240, ie a gain of €120,000 on the operation, which is not neutral. But again, I wonder. “The elected Tervillois refers to the sale of land on this same Zac, last December, for the benefit of Sodevam (Société de développement et d’amenagement de la Moselle) “in which the agglo is a minority shareholder. For this neighboring program, the Meilbourg Two, we sold at a price of €255 excluding VAT per m². Can you explain to me how we can sell land for less to a private person than to… ourselves? »
For Jean-Charles Louis, in charge of economic development at Portes de France, the difference can be explained “by the game of negotiation. Each project is different. In this case, the builder will deliver buildings with high environmental quality certification”. He also supports the statement by comparing this sale with that of land “for the benefit of a car dealership in Terville. The sale took place at the price of €95 excl. VAT per m²! “The pass of arms between the two community elected officials is tense: “We must not mix everything up, it was seven years ago, since the market exploded”, highlights Olivier Postal. “In seven years, the market price has not tripled, that’s not true”, gets carried away Jean-Charles Louis. End of the presentation placed under the sign of the contradictory…
–
Why was there no competition?
This question was asked by Brigitte Vaïsse. “There were no calls for tenders, because we received no other expression of interest for this land”, sums up Jean-Charles Louis. Pierre Cuny takes the opportunity to launch an appeal: “A letter was sent recently to solicit the mayors who have land. Today, the door is wide open to investors who would like to make student housing! As a reminder, there could be 2,200 of them on the Thionville-Yutz campus in 2026.
–
