“We have a strong political will: to offer an increased supply of social and family housing in all districts of the city”repeated Mathieu Klein, mayor of Nancy, several times during the presentation of the future project which will take place, from next year, on the site of the former rectorate and the Citadel gate. Indeed, if the overall project concerns a set of several buildings dating from different periods, the challenge lies mainly in its purpose: the creation of 86 social and family housing units in the heart of the city. A major challenge at a time when “70% of French households are eligible” to this system, insists Isabelle Lucas, municipal assistant responsible for ecological town planning and housing. Including apartments “ranging from T1 to T5”the distribution targets a third of rental loans assisted by integration, a third of social rental loans and a third of rental loans for social use. This reconversion thus meets a triple objective: strengthening the housing supply, promoting diversity and preserving abandoned heritage.
Former state property, the site was acquired for a symbolic euro by the City of Nancy. “At the time of the departure of the rectorate services, the City wanted to put the subject on the table and acquired the site to imagine [son avenir] »rewinds the mayor of Nancy. Building on two years of partnership work carried out with Batigère Habitat, the public land establishment of Grand Est and state services, the approved project provides, in addition to the creation of housing, that of premises on the ground floor ground floor, intended to accommodate various activities: an associative space, an office with the aim of welcoming a liberal profession, an intergenerational space and a workshop. A crèche will be located in the Arsenal building. All for a total investment of 22 million euros, financed at several levels including 1 million euros by the public land establishment of Grand Est and direct aid of 650,000 euros from the City of Nancy in particular. “We have taken the Citadel. This project is great proof of what can be achieved when we demonstrate collective intelligence”rejoices, with humor, Julien le Goff, secretary general of the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
Delivery in the second half of 2027
The preservation, as well as the beautification of the heritage of the site will also constitute an important aspect. Thus, public accessibility of the garden, another key point of the project, is also preserved. A “strong demand” of Nancy, underlines Mathieu Klein. Regarding the Citadel gate, services will also be installed on the ground floor and, upstairs, the development of a restaurant, “with its terrace”is still under discussion, although there is a good chance that this option will be the one chosen. The exterior spaces will be waterproofed and around thirty parking spaces will be provided.
In terms of timetable, the first sod will not take place before September 2025, with delivery of the whole planned for the second half of 2027. Before that, the gate of the Citadel, having experienced a rockfall due to the passage of an oversized vehicle, must be secured before reopening to traffic. A large-scale operation which does not exclude “reexamine” on the mobility pattern in this area, confides Mathieu Klein. “Do we really need to maintain circulation between the gates of the Citadel and the Craffe? This is a question worth asking. We are clearly in a space which, today, could have other functions. » Another debate which will take place in due time…
