Could the Heron Tree be a good place for phoenixes?
Abandoned by Nantes Métropole in mid-September because of a
"significant additional cost"
, the artistic project imagined by the creators of the Elephant and the Carrousel of the marine worlds is perhaps not so buried as that.
It could even finally rise from its ashes thanks to private investors.
A reversal of the situation is still far from being a reality, but this hypothesis is gaining momentum.
“We are working on it. It's possible to do it”
, assures Yann Trichard, the president of the Loire-Atlantique Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI).
The defender of a project
“which makes you dream”
claims to have brought together individuals and professionals
“likely to participate in the context of the general interest”
and who would be ready to put their hands in their pockets to compensate for public disengagement.
The economic model is even already defined.
It can be summed up in three words:
“build, operate, restore”
.
The Heron Tree would therefore not be intended to remain in the private fold indefinitely.
According to a
“logic of restitution”
, it would be granted to the local authority once the initial investment has paid off.
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A budget still to be defined
On the other hand, Yann Trichard does not mention any precise figures about this private project.
“The budget
has not yet been finalized because we do not know the precise perimeter.
There are a number of elements that we do not yet have
, ”he explains.
The first of these is the will or not of Nantes Métropole to make available to private investors the land of the Miséry quarry where the initial project was to take root.
If this were the case, the question of the price of the temporary "transfer" would also be up for debate.
“We are in the process of planning a date to obtain an appointment with the Métropole to discuss it.
We are going to make a request in this sense
, ”confirms Yann Trichard to
Figaro
.
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For its part, the community demonstrates a communication that is minimalist to say the least.
It is content to specify that, for the moment, no contact has taken place on this subject with the CCI.
As for the private financing project, she does not react to it since she
“does not know about it”
.
Another privileged interlocutor in this file, the company La Machine, designer of the Heron Tree, is much more talkative.
She confirms to be in contact with the CCI to
“discuss the launch of the project”
under another version.
"We are very happy to see that the adventure can continue to be carried"
, is satisfied François Delaroziere, its artistic director.
"Starting on a good footing"
After having sharply challenged the decision of the Metropolis to cancel the Heron Tree project, the co-author of the work now wishes to advance:
“There is no resentment.
Conflicts are not constructive.
We want to start on a good footing.
“
Even if he
“regrets”
the lack of current relations with the community, François Delaroziere says he is
“confident”
and
“ready to discuss with the cabinet”
of the PS mayor Johanna Rolland.
On the other hand, one point seems intangible to him: the implementation of the project in the Miséry quarry.
“Without the Heron Tree, the restructuring project of Bas-Chantenay is orphan of what makes its heart,”
he believes.
How then to proceed to use the land?
On this point, Catherine Saudray, the legal director of the company, wants to be more precise about the potential private project:
"It could be done within the framework of an administrative emphyteutic lease"
.
This type of contract established over a long period allows a “lessee” a real right on the lease concerned.
In particular, he can carry out work or construction there to profit from it.
In exchange, at the end of the lease, which can range from 18 to 99 years, the owner can benefit from the improvements made without compensation.
The “false trial” of ecology
"By allowing the land to be made available, Nantes Métropole would continue to support the project in its own way"
, emphasizes François Delaroziere.
Involved in the exchanges with the CCI in terms of the financial arrangement of the private project, he evokes a "
not mind-boggling figure in the costs"
.
Again, no specific amount is mentioned.
“Pierre Oréfice
(the other co-creator of the work, editor's note)
didn't really believe it at first when he thought about the new way of using the site.
From now on, he believes in it hard as iron
,” concedes the artistic director of the company.
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If the financial argument put forward by the community to abandon the project seems satisfied, there remains that of the ecological impact.
When making her decision public, Johanna Rolland had mentioned a project which
“must be viewed in the light of ecological and social emergencies”
.
On this point, François Delaroziere evokes his disagreement:
“It is a false trial that that of ecology.
Our project is at the heart of the ecological transition.
The Heron Tree will not be heated, includes the installation of plants and is based on a mechanical bestiary for which we have chosen to use recyclable steel as much as possible”
.
A speech that tends to demonstrate that all tensions are not yet dissipated.
“Nantes must remain a non-cautious, daring city as it was with the Elephant.
It must not sacrifice culture and the arts to other issues
,” advises François Delaroziere.
