what happens to this building in Le Havre?

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Two years after the factalmost to the day, the facade of the building located at 117 rue René-Coty, in Le Havre, is still supported by props. The barriers installed to prevent access to the building following the issuance of a municipal decree have not been removed. Weeds have invaded the sidewalk.

They find themselves on the street two days before Christmas

Back to the facts. It’s around 5:30 p.m. this Thursday, December 22, 2022 when residents of the building are asked to leave their apartments. The hairdresser installed at number 117 bis and his clients must also evacuate.

A few hours before Christmasthe faces are dark. The five occupants of the building, as well as three people who were in the hairdressing salon and the manager of the company La Maison des Travaux, helplessly watched the ballet of firefighters and GRDF agents.

Although the evacuation was sudden, it did not surprise many people. In fact, three weeks previously, witnesses had been placed on the facade which showed cracks. “We were a little aware,” confided, on December 22, 2022, Joël, one of the tenants, who however did not expect to find himself on the street overnight.

“A shift at floor level,” said the expert

It was an expert who came to check the witnesses who then alerted the town hall and Sdis (Departmental Fire and Rescue Service). In question: “a shift at floor level”. “Noting that it had moved two millimeters, the expert preferred to alert in turn,” said the firefighters on site.

That evening, the residents will have prohibited from returning to their home and will only be able to access their accommodation the next day, only to collect a few things.

Joël was thus able to return to his apartment to get Christmas presents for his grandson, clothes and medicine. He remembers: “The building was cracked but I didn't expect that. » The man had been accommodated with his daughter before a rehousing solution was offered to him.

The hairdresser quickly found a premises just a few meters away

A loyal customer of the tobacco bar Le Coup Franc, Christian was present the day the evacuation was ordered. “It hurt my heart to see all these people on the streets just before Christmas. We also had to leave the bar because the emergency services had afraid that the building will collapse“, he remembers.

The establishment was finally able to reopen its doors the next day. Two businesses located across the street also had to close their doors as a precaution. Worried about the survival of his business on the evening of the evacuation, Nahyl Amokran, manager of the hair salon, was finally able to quickly move into new premises just a few meters away.

Pending the results of the expertise carried out in 2023

Christophe Duval, manager of the company La Maison des Travaux and tenant of accommodation behind the building, “lost big”. “The franchise let me down. We lived in a Airbnb for more than two months before finding rental accommodation on our own,” he confides.

Today at the head of Aximotravo in Le Havre, he still has this evening of December 22, 2022 in his mind. “ We thought about it last night [dimanche 22 décembre 2024, jour anniversaire de l’évacuation, NDLR]. It was a hard moment. »

Especially since the conclusions of the expertise carried out six months after the evacuation, a year and a half ago, have still not been released. “The owner had six months to find a solution: either rehabilitate it or destroy it,” indicates Christophe Duval, present during the expert's visit, as during each meeting.

So what future for the building?

Regarding the building, the situation seems to be at a standstill seen from the outside. Over the past two years, the expected work has ultimately not taken place. So what will become of the building?

Asked by 76actuthe City of Le Havre indicates: “The urban civil protection service received the owner yesterday morning [jeudi 19 décembre 2024, NDLR]. He informed us thathe is looking to resell his property. » “We have no further information to communicate at the moment,” adds the municipality.

If at one time, a real estate developer considered buying the building to build another brand new one with underground parking, this option now seems abandoned.

Contacted, the owner of the building did not respond to our requests at the time of publishing this article.

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