How to revitalize a city? “We don’t just sell buildings but projects”

“Rebuilding the city on the city”

In Charleroi, the Real Estate and Social Renovation and Revitalization Agency (Arris) has made this its main mission. We were able to find out more thanks to its director, Véronique Dailly. “Arris is a municipal authority created by the City of Charleroi to specifically cover projects which aim to rebuild the city within the city, she begins. In greater Charleroi, there are many empty or abandoned buildings that no longer meet the city’s current needs. Our role is to buy them back in order to design projects that aim to recreate living spaces, provide impetus and launch an urban development strategy. We are in a way the armed arm of the City to carry out these real estate projects.”

“Attract private investors again”

Behind this mention we find various challenges that affect all large cities, such as the rehabilitation of empty commercial cells or the need to offer affordable housing in the city center. “The goal is really to reinvest in a high-density urban environment, by restoring friendly and mixed spaces, with housing but also commercial activity, she says. We must also think about attracting private investors again. I take the example of a building that we bought near the Palais des Beaux-Arts, which itself was recently renovated. In this cultural activity zone, the project made it possible to open four urban lodges. Each project is different and must meet specific needs.”

Please note, the role of the management is not to follow projects from A to Z, from the purchase to the marketing of housing, for example, but to make projects viable and interesting for developers. “We do not offer turnkey projects but turnkey projects, smiles Véronique Dailly. Our role is to clear the ground for investors and offer them a concrete project. We will, for example, take care of the decontamination of a site, obtaining building permits, the passage of stability engineers, surveyors or even the asbestos inventory. In addition, we liaise with other public actors, such as the Charleroi social real estate agency, in particular. We don’t just sell buildings but projects, in short.”

Technical and legal skills

But how do you get to the head of a management company that is so specific and requires a variety of knowledge, from real estate to soil studies? “Initially, I trained as a bioengineer but I have always worked in the field of land use planning and town planning, both in public and private companies, replies the director of Arris. I subsequently completed additional training in business administrative management and environmental and real estate law. I actually moved from technical skills to legal skills. On a practical level, I explored subjects such as the energy certification of buildings, which is an issue that has become essential in recent years.” And when, at birth, Arris was looking for a director, the position was almost tailor-made for her. “I am from the Charleroi region and this job offer echoed everything I had learned in my professional career. I very quickly had the chance to join this position in 2020.”

Charleroi, the most populated municipality in the Wallonia-Brussels area

Today, several projects are in the management’s pipeline, ranging from the rehabilitation of a town square in Gosselies to the renovation of a garage space. Added to this are projects which aim to give new life to houses located in strategic locations, particularly around the stations of greater Charleroi. “We can count on a multidisciplinary team, concludes Véronique Dailly, with people trained in real estate, administration, town planning or more technical professions, in engineering.”