Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jean in Orléans, the offices of the former Masséna building will soon be transformed into housing.
But in the meantime, they have found a new vocation.
Renamed L'Extension, they welcome an ephemeral third place, under the impetus of Benjamin Cheminat from Orleans.
This 37-year-old graphic designer had long had the desire "to set up a project that would revolve around culture and the social and solidarity economy".
This year, he was finally able to make it happen, "thanks to a story of encounter".
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The young man crossed paths with Oriane Le Roy Liberge, Centre-Val-de-Loire director of the promoter Sully Immobilier, who offered to test his project for a few months in this building acquired by the group, while the work begins, probably at the end of the year.
A tavern this summer
It all started in February.
Common areas have been fitted out, with a communal kitchen, billiards and darts.
The offices are rented at a low price, and you can also come and do coworking and book by the hour, by the day (atelier.mouleagaufres.com)… Thanks to word-of-mouth, half of the surface is busy, with activities as diverse as an insurance broker, a sewing workshop, a ceramist, a screen printer or a sound studio...
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This summer, L'Extension will be enriched with a guinguette, installed in the car park, as well as a rich program of cultural events, open to all.
But Benjamin Cheminat is already thinking about the aftermath, and hopes to be able to extend the experience elsewhere, in a permanent place, where he also imagines setting up a crèche, a bar, a laundry, a showroom, etc.
“This experience allows me to scale the project and will help me convince the banks,” he says.
He also needs to find the right site, and the young man is thinking big, since he is considering an investment of two to three million euros.