With flying colours. With the first phase now almost complete at Marseille, Euroméditerrannée has achieved all its objectives in transforming this area, which encompasses the Joliette districts and the Belle de Mai, but also the old docks and the rue de la République as far as the Vieux-Port, in one vast business district covering 210 hectares. Designed for companies, particularly international ones, and located between the CMA-CGM tower and the J4 esplanade, this "business district" already has almost no land reserves, both in terms of land and buildings. its success was rapid. "Since 2018, major international companies have continued to set up operations here, including Switzerland's Ceva Logistics and India's Infosys, a developer of big data and artificial intelligence solutions for the transport sector.It's a very attractive place to live", explains Stéphane Ghio, Euroméditerranée's Director of Economic Development. In fact, since the inception of Euromed, the attractiveness of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area has taken a quantum leap, now attracting 70 % of foreign investment to the PACA region.
Smart city in the making
While the initial plans for the first phase were for 35,000 jobs, in fact 44,000 new jobs have been created, a remarkable result hailed by the OECD, which ranked Aix-Marseille second among European cities in terms of the number of jobs created. job creation. Keeping up with the times, Euromed is seeing the opening of a number of new shopping and leisure areas. coworking as Newton Offices or Wellio, and even a residence combining coworking and co-living, like the one opened by Babel Community, while a neighbourhood life is developing with new restaurants and hotels, including Golden Tulip and NH Collection, as well as entertainment and events venues such as Silo, La Coque and Docks Village, all under the E10.10 banner.
"On the strength of this success, we are ready to embark on phase 2 of the project, i.e. 170 new hectares of mixed-use land. a real smart city which takes into account the specific needs of a Mediterranean city"continues Stéphane Ghio. With 300 days of sunshine and rare but heavy rainfall, Marseille needs a pilot district offering all kinds of innovations, including climate-related ones. Thanks to a seawater loop pumped from the nearby port, geothermal energy can be used to heat or cool buildings, reducing CO2 emissions by 70 %. Nearly 40,000 new residents are expected to move into the new area, which already has a population of 3,000.
While the initial plans for the first phase were for 35,000 jobs, 44,000 new jobs have already been created, a remarkable result hailed by the OECD.
While this extension to Euroméditerrannée will include offices, it will of course offer shops and leisure facilities, as well as, at the start of the 2024 school year, an international school complex comprising a primary school, a middle school and a high school, where teaching will be available in four languages. From 2020 until 2025, there will also be a eco-neighbourhoodThe Fabriques project is the result of a partnership between Bouygues Immobilier, Linkcity and Urban Era. The aim is to promote culture, combining craftsmanship and new technologies.
"The emphasis will be on a circular economy and short circuits, as well as on soft mobility, with the desire to live and work in the same place. Note the opening of numerous fablabs (Editor's note: laboratories providing access to digital manufacturing tools) and France's largest maker space, Ici Marseille, where craftspeople are already using shared tools."says Stéphane Ghio. The first stage of this eco-district has already been completed: Smartseille, a 58,000 m2 including smart homes, offices and a hotel, as well as shared services such as smart car parks and an e-concierge service.
Of course, Euromed is taking care to produce social housing in a town known for its low incomes. "We are seeing the emergence of a new middle class that is stimulating the city's economy"concludes Stéphane Ghio. End of 2019, the arrival of the metro to the Capitaine Gèze multimodal station, followed by the tramway in 2023, will be another step towards making the city a truly pleasant place to live.
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