The La Défense business district near Paris hopes that transforming more than 300,000 square meters of offices into greener, more flexible workspaces will attract businesses and reduce the high vacancy rate of its buildings.
With its brutalist architecture and modern skyscrapers dominating the skyline west of the Arc de Triomphe, La Défense is considered the largest purpose-built business district. But like other urban commercial districts, its offices emptied during the pandemic and business declined. Its vacancy rate, which reaches more than 15% compared to less than 10% before the pandemic, is much higher than in the center of Paris, whose vacancy rate stands at around 2%, according to real estate agents. Many of its towers are dilapidated and environmentally unfriendly, but demolishing or converting them would prove too costly.
VOS INDICES
source
The director of Paris La Défense, the public body that manages the district, told Reuters that the plan would be to launch renovations in the coming years for tenants who want smaller, greener offices. The plan will initially tackle 300,000 square meters of office space, nearly a tenth of La Défense’s total area. Experts estimate the cost of the renovation will run into hundreds of millions of euros. This budget will be covered mainly by large developers such as Unibail Rodamco Westfield (URW) and Vinci.
Cheaper than central Paris
One of the strengths of the business district is that the average rent, at around 550 euros per square metre, is half that of central Paris, where supply is limited, agents point out.
Attention to environmental standards could thus give La Défense another advantage over central Paris, where buildings often date from the 19th century and are built of brick, which limits the possibility of using less energy-intensive construction materials.
Paris La Défense is already selecting real estate projects based on their energy and environmental characteristics. The organization is also transforming the public concrete esplanade into a five-hectare urban park, which will be inaugurated in 2027. Building management systems have been put in place, allowing office lights to be automatically turned off at night and the temperature to be regulated. “We are starting from a model of an extremely energy-intensive and monofunctional neighborhood,” Pierre-Yves Guice, CEO of Paris La Défense, told Reuters from his office overlooking the neighborhood. “Despite what people may say, our ideas remain very rational, very adaptable to the needs of companies, and we can accommodate both large and small companies,” he added.
La Défense will soon be home to France’s tallest skyscraper, The Link, a 242-metre-high tower that will house the new headquarters of TotalEnergies, a long-time resident of the district.
With Reuters (Mathieu Rosemain; French version Pauline Foret, edited by Blandine Hénault)
Selected for you
