A multimodal esplanade with a cost of EUR 49

The main asset of le Mans in tertiary real estate is his station. The This city was born of the train and it is this mode of transport which will focus its development in the years to come, says Jean-Claude Boulard, Socialist Mayor. Eighteen years ago, there was nothing on the site, no sponsor. We acquired the land and everything is raised. "Where concerns of elected officials and economic circles to see le Mans TGV service possibly reduced by the future bypass of the city by the line high speed (LGV) Brittany.

In the meantime, commissioning of the tramway, scheduled for the fall of 2007, provides an opportunity to develop the North of the station. A multimodal esplanade with a cost of EUR 49.6 million ends of structuring the neighbourhood. Four buildings of various activities (shops, services and offices) totalling 12,000 m2 of surface will thus provide the line. The project is carried by Art and building associated with Promocil, a subsidiary of the local group Lelièvre promoter. South of the station, the neighbourhood Novaxys is also a new phase of expansion. Its fleet of offices will be 65,000 to 100,000 m2 in two years, reinforcing an already rich business centre of 70 companies including the GIE Sesam Vitale, the direction of the material of the SNCF or the Smith & Nephew group teams, all already allowing 3,000 jobs.

Art and packhorses and Promocil began to deploy in the South of the railway right-of-way program of five buildings of 3.500 m2 each called "Galaxy". The first block was delivered in October, the second will be in April and the rest will follow at the pace of the withdrawal of the Sernam, which occupies the field. Present at le Mans since the beginning, in 1988, Art, and it is the main real estate player of tertiary headquarters Novaxys. This subsidiary of the vannetais Eprim claims over this period the construction of 80,000 m2 of offices, hotels and manufacturing premises. It is also the construction of the new seat of MMA, MAAF, azure and group insurance companies as well as project Pegasus 6,200 m2 to host the XL Re reinsurance company.

Tertiary vocation

"The fact that the Group MMA confirms its rooting in le Mans, his home town, shows how the city said tertiary vocation", noted François Pillot, the Director of Art and Pack, which boasts capping to 160 euros per square metre rents and values to the purchase exceeding not 2,000 euros for the very high range. "Communities are here to listen to the companies and they were able to avoid speculation.". Longer term, the promoter is candidate for the creation of an extension of the Centre of affairs on the right-of-way of the psychiatric hospital in le Mans. The hospital activity to leave in 2012. "We had an agreement with the Joint Union linking the city, the urban community, the Department and Chamber of commerce and industry, to create a pole tertiary high energy performance connected on the existing thermal power", exposes the leader.

All of the project, about eight to ten years from 2015, would allow a potential of 50,000 square metres of space. A part of the building is classified and will be preserved. "We have for this part of the hospital an idea in the cultural field", continues the head, referring to a possible partnership with MMA, which has a contemporary art foundation.

Other projects include the restructuring of the Emerald, the MMA ex-siège Tower, which is a supply of 100 homes and 4,000 m2 of offices in downtown. "Off of the MMA group operation, the market is however typical of an average city of province, nuance Christian Dufour, Regional Director of IEL CB Richard Ellis.". We are on an annual level of transactions between 20,000 and 25,000 m2.

According to this expert, immediately available inventory is very insufficient because the launch of projects is strongly conditioned to the already expressed request of significant surfaces, which tends to penalize SMEs seeking small premises. Cabinet said the rehabilitation of the building of the free "The Maine" daily near the medieval centre, which, led by the Group Lelièvre, will help identify 2.000 m2 of offices. On the outskirts, the University Pole soon served by the tram should provide longer term for the spaces in the tertiary development but housing, without obligation of densifying the urban fabric. "Few cities have the chance to urbanization and a new neighbourhood, says Jean-Claude Boulard. Le Mans is not limited by space, we have the area of Lyon.