The Cité de la Buffa, built a century ago in Nice, will be razed to make way for an XXL hotel. A 4-star with some 357 rooms, a capacity which should make it the largest in Nice.
The project, work on which should begin before the end of 2025, also includes the destruction of the Casino supermarket which adjoins the market.
Everything or almost everything was sealed: the Casino supermarket had to be transferred to other premises while the two premises on the corner of Boulevard Gambetta and Rue du Maréchal-Joffre were demolished and rebuilt. This was without taking into account the critical situation of the Saint-Etienne group, sold piecemeal to Auchan and Intermarché.
“We had an agreement with Casino but at the beginning of the year, our contacts ceased. We were finally contacted by Intermarché which is taking over the brand installed on Boulevard Gambetta and we are due to see each other at the beginning of May. We are not starting from scratch because there are writings, discussions, existing plans… We hope that Intermarché will fill the shoes of Casino”breathes Jacques Labrunie, the real estate director of Apicap.
Otherwise? The project will have to be adapted.
For the moment, on-site reconstruction is planned. With expansion: from a little more than 1,000 m² currently, we would have a floor area of 1,500 m², with a ceiling height approaching 5 meters. The entrance would remain at the Gambetta-Joffre corner.
If everything goes as hoped by the developer, this Intermarché could open in October 2027, several months before the hotel.
