Originally, we turned our backs on it ... Today, we are trying to get as close as possible. The Ourcq is no longer anything but the canal through which boats arriving or leaving Paris pass: the numerous bikes which, this Thursday morning, run alongside it to go to work.
In Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis), by 2030, 1,300 dwellings will have been built on its banks. A titanic project started a few months ago and the first batches of which will be delivered later this year. "It will be one of the last districts to emerge from the earth as part of the development project for the banks of the Ourcq, from Pantin to Bondy," explains Laure Ruffin, territorial director of Séquano, the developer.
A territory of 11 hectares, or more than 15 soccer fields
Difficult to say that there are still a few months, where will emerge in the coming months buildings, 500 to 600 people lived in a slum, which can still be seen on satellite images. The camp evacuated at the end of 2019, the works could start.
The project covers an area of 11 hectares, or more than fifteen soccer fields, which were largely occupied until now by concrete plants. "We optimized the space, they revised their process, which made it possible to recover land," explains Laure Ruffin.
The numerous demolition permits along the street - on a plot of 5,000 m2, on another plot of 400 m2, another of 2,200 m2… - illustrate the surface potential which will benefit the new district of Rives de l'Ourcq. The few economic activities already present will be relocated or relocated, "when possible", to the future district. "A whole space, behind the port, will be able to accommodate these companies", specifies the PS mayor of Bondy, Sylvine Thomassin.
1,300 homes and shops on the ground floor
The challenge of this district is enormous: it will eventually connect the city center on the other side of the Ourcq, and the residential districts on the other side. By 2030, line 15 of the Grand Paris Express, which will tour the capital, will serve Bondy and its Pont-de-Bondy station, a few minutes' walk from this new district. It will also be served by buses on the T Zen line, which must link Paris to Pavillons-sous-Bois by 2024. "Our objective is to integrate this district into the already existing urban fabric," explains Laure Ruffin.
Beyond the 1,300 dwellings, 30% of which are social housing, the Rives de l'Ourcq district wants to be a lively district. It is estimated that nearly 2,500 new residents will arrive. "All the ground floors will be active, that is to say shops and other activities", explains Clémentine Cirignano, operations manager at Séquano.
A mini-market, a bar, a medical office, association premises ... Nothing is yet fixed and this will have to be done in concert with the other players. "We have provided moderate prices to allow these activities to be maintained over time and to be able to start them before the neighborhood is even finished," explains Laure Ruffin.
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Shops will be concentrated, in particular, along the route d'Aulnay. A new school of six classes will be created in the Halle des Salins, which, although preserved, will be redeveloped. "The framework of this place is magnificent," specifies the mayor. We will make sure to highlight it. A two hectare park will bring greenery to this "very ambitious ecologically" district.
Less than 4000 euros per square meter
The district seduces. Altarea Cogedim, which will only start work in April for delivery in 2022, has already registered around 40 bookings since October for its “Canal Horizon” program. It must be said that the location of these accommodations is ideal: facing the canal. “We are on a very good pace,” explains Johanna Darmon Mercier, production manager.
With a square meter less than 4000 euros, “we have families who come from Bondy or nearby, and also Parisians who buy here faced with the very high prices in the capital. "It's a neighborhood in the making," summarizes the production manager. There is already the canal, there will be public transport, shops ... "Sylvine Thomassin smiles:" It's a project we've been talking about for 20 years and it's finally starting to come out of the ground. "