In the north of Paris, brand new housing is struggling to find takers

Of the housing brand new that are struggling to fill up. This is the sad fate reserved for the new Chapelle International district, in the 18th district of Paris, which should accommodate 6,000 people by 2024 (3,000 inhabitants and 3,000 employees combined). A hell of a waste for a project that costs around 25 million euros. The fault of the bad reputation of the Porte de la Chapelle, linked to drug trafficking and in particular to crack. Few families agree to come and settle on this former railway wasteland of 7 hectares wedged between the railway tracks of the Gare du Nord and rue de la Chapelle (see map below). And this, although a nursery and primary school, a crèche, a 1200 m² gymnasium or even an urban farm also need land. In addition to two office buildings and six residential.

“We have difficulty attracting families with childrenrecognizes Christine Laconde, director of the Real Estate Board of the city of Paris, the second largest social landlord in the capital, quoted by Le Parisien. Small surfaces intended for young people, on the other hand, find takers“. The proof in figures: of the last batch of 65 housing units managed by the RIVP, 47 are unoccupied. Of the 1,100 homes that will see the light of day in the next three years, 47% are HLMs. For an 80 m² apartment with a large terrace, a resident pays 1066 euros each month, heating included. That is a little over 13 euros per m². And despite these affordable prices, some locals are reluctant. “Slaloming at the Porte de la Chapelle tram exit among zombies addicted to crack, it makes you thinkretorts a woman looking for social housing.

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As for private accommodation, count between 7,000 and 9,000 euros per m² to acquire one, in a district where the m² is negotiated for more than 8,400 euros, according to the notaries of Greater Paris. And yet, the apartments are also struggling to fill up. Ditto on the office side, sales are not taking off. “Crack hill has been dismantled. We take stock every week with the police commissioner“, assures the entourage ofAnne Hidalgo, PS mayor of Paris. Dominique Dupré-Henry, co-founder of Aux Arbres Citoyens!, describes, for her part, “serious problems of overdensification in the Chapelle International district“. “Despite some pleasant spaces but without generosity, (this district) constitutes a very dense set of towers established without overall composition or harmony, where profitability has dictated the urban form to the detriment of the quality of life of the inhabitants where trees are rare», denounces the architect in a column published in Le Figaro.

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