The public meeting of June 11 in La Valette-du-Var (Var) closed a four-month cycle of workshops open to the population, to allow them to understand the “Fleurs de Genêt” real estate program. This will renew the western entrance to the town, which is part of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolis. Led by the local public company Méditerranée (SPLM), a public developer wholly owned by its 11 shareholders, the operation consists of building a set of 259 housing units (59 for seniors, 122 free, 78 social) on the site occupied by the former Anatole-France school and the Genêts retirement home.
The SPLM is not wiping the slate clean of the past because the central element remains the old school, a brick building covered with plaster, built at the end of the 19th century. Cleared of all its outgrowths and constructions added over time, rehabilitated and enlarged, it will house the future senior residence, the gateway to the block. Its plane tree courtyard will also be preserved, which will serve as a transition space and landmark.
Harmony with surrounding buildings. “Our initial architectural approach consisted of taking into account the main features of the site and its environment. Located close to the town hall and shops, the land is inserted into a fabric of small apartment buildings and individual houses,” describes architect Marc Farcy, representative of the group that won the competition in November 2023. “The three buildings constructed behind the old school and in place of the old retirement home are thus an architectural response in harmony with the recent residences, with their rhythm, their stone foundations and their roof terraces,” he adds.
The SPLM has just launched the marketing of the first building housing 67 vacant housing units. Its construction will begin at the same time as the rehabilitation of the old school. “Once it is delivered, we will be able to transfer the retirement home, demolish the old building and then start the second phase,” explains Kiruna Buzançais, deputy director of the SPLM.
This project, which is also urban, will allow an existing alley to be redeveloped and thus serve the seniors’ residence and the three buildings. “Extended onto Avenue François-Fabié, to the northeast of the project, it will provide a logical outlet for the local urban network,” says the architect. Marc Farcy also took care to work on the topography to integrate the four buildings into the 10 m difference in level of the land. One of his other objectives was to demineralize the heart of the urban block occupied by various buildings and playgrounds, to create a series of private gardens and a preserved and enhanced wooded area, representing 4,500 m2 of planted areas.
Technical informations
Project management : SPLM.
Subject mastery : Marc Farcy Architect (agent), Vincent Lion (landscaper).
BET : Betem (TCE economist), Acoustics & consulting.
Surface : 12,510 m2 (land), 15,500 m2 SP (built).
Amount of work : 25 M€ HT.
Certification : NF Habitat HQE.
Calendar : first calls for tenders in the 3rd quarter of 2025; delivery in two tranches, end of 2027 and end of 2029.
