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Coline Bonvalot
Published on
Oct 18, 2024 at 5:38 p.m.
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“I lived on the fourth floor of this tower for 35 years,” remembers Madame Fernandez, her eyes glued to her window where those old white curtains still hang. Like so many others, she had to say goodbye, this Tuesday, October 15, 2024, to this part of her life during an official ceremony marking the start of demolition work in the Parc aux Lièvres district, in Évry-Courcouronnes. The transformation of this space began in mid-August, notably with the destruction of the slab before continuing with the erosion of the buildings by the end of 2024. Once all of these spaces have been destroyed, a whole new district will emerge with 900 new housing units.
“We were good here”
« It hurts my heart to tell yourself that everything is over. I had an extraordinary apartment and above all very large with two bedrooms,” explains Ms. Fernandez. She had to, reluctantly, draw a line under this cozy little nest in 2017 when the rehousing operation for the neighborhood’s residents was launched. And unfortunately she is not the only one…
The history of this emblematic district of Évry
The Parc aux Lièvres district was built between 1968 and 1971, and then became one of the very first districts of the new town of Évry. It was designed by the Parisian architect Jean Badani who was rewarded by the National Architecture Committee for this achievement. Please note that this neighborhood was designed to house officials from the Prefecture. Its name was chosen in reference to the numerous hares and wild boar present in the region before its urbanization.
The Parc aux lièvres district is then made up of 780 housing units distributed in 5 10-story towers found on either side of the slab. Over time, in total, nearly 1,200 housing units (including 870 social housing units) will make up the Parc aux Lièvres district.
“We were good here. At the very beginning that it was built, there was lots of shops: a Monoprix, a dry cleaner, a butcher, a café… There were even dance lessons,” continues her friend, Marie-Rose. She also experienced the glory days of this neighborhood. For years, she worked in the Parc aux Lièvres neighborhood center.
“I loved my colleagues. Every time I went on vacation to Portugal, I couldn’t wait to come back and see them again, because I missed themsays Marie-Rose, moved. The secretary lived on the top floor of this building, and one morning she sent me a message joking: “My head is in a fog.” From up there, she couldn’t see anything anymore. »
Drug trafficking, assaults…
Beyond the countless neighborhood parties, the mutual aid between residents, the birth of great artists like Koba LaD and Bolémvn, the filming of the Netflix film “Athéna”, this district also contains numerous dark moments. Drug trafficking and widespread attacks have also left their mark on “the reputation of this neighborhood”.
“Now that it’s over, we only keep good memories . But it’s true that there was a lot of delinquency and the businesses didn’t last long,” confides Marie-Rose.
This observation is also shared by the mayor of Évry-Courcouronnes, Stéphane Beaudet, who also lived in the neighborhood when he was younger. “Life on these slabs has considerably increased degraded over the years. This neighborhood has gone through particularly difficult times, and something had to change. Our nostalgia should not make us forget these moments. »
More than 400 trees will be planted
Saying goodbye to say hello to something more beautiful. This is the whole ambition of this large-scale project. While more than 100,000 tons of rubbleand surely a million memories will disappear, this much-loved neighborhood will rise from its ashes.
“Tomorrow we will see children here running and trees growing. 900 new housing units will be created and 400 trees will be planted. The destruction of this slab made it possible to open this district to the sky,” rejoices Anne-Claire Mialot, general director of the national agency for urban renovation (ANRU).
Namely that this destruction will make it possible to achieve the following operations: the urban renovation of Parc aux Lièvres, a new quality and diversified housing offer, the redevelopment of the multimodal hub of the Bras de Fer-Genopole RER station, the creation of new cycle paths, development of local shops, offices and laboratory around the station in the extension of the Genopole campus, and the renovation and development of public services (Maison des Services Publics Gisèle Halimi, François Mauriac gymnasium, renovation of schools).
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