In , former artists’ studios soon to be transformed into large tourist accommodations

Rue des Thermopyles, in , July 1, 2015. BRUNO LEVESQUE/IP3 PRESS/MAXPPP

It is a bucolic alley like a few remaining in Paris, with its cobblestones, its green arches and its low dwellings which adjoin the old workshops. But the calm of rue des Thermopyles, in 14e district, may not last much longer: two former artists’ studios should be transformed into large-capacity furnished tourist accommodation and no one can legally oppose this.

Led by a large real estate developer, the project plans to rehabilitate the two plots into five independent apartments with six to twelve beds, or forty-six beds in total, nestled at the bottom of a private courtyard, behind two three-story buildings. “We fear becoming a backdrop for a bachelor party”deplores the aptly named Nicolas Laruelle, a worried local resident mobilized with the Cœur d’île Thermopyles collective, who still hopes to be able to change the situation.

The story began two years ago when the Terrot real estate group bought two workshops in poor condition behind numbers 37 and 37 bis. On this occasion, the residents discovered that these two plots of land with a total surface area of ​​525 square meters are not as protected as the rest of the neighborhood and that it is theoretically possible to build tall buildings there.

Authorized project

As the local town planning plan is currently being revised, local residents are taking the opportunity to request a classification of these two zones in order to prevent any elevation which would obstruct light and vis-à-vis. After several discussions with the town hall of 14ethe latter confirmed, during the district council meeting on Tuesday, November 12 where the subject was hotly debated, its choice to favor another type of classification which would limit the height to 7 meters, i.e. 2 meters more than the existing one. . This zoning would be more interesting from an environmental point of view because it would require in particular the revegetation of part of the plots and the de-waterproofing of the soil. Not enough to satisfy the residents, who remain worried about possible work.

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Above all, a second, more concrete problem arose when they discovered, at the end of October, the existence of a project to rehabilitate these workshops into large Airbnb-style tourist lofts. The project, submitted to the town planning department in June, was tacitly authorized two months after its submission, as is the rule for prior declarations of work.

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