Abandoned, at a standstill… these major projects which are failing in Rennes

A World Cup football match at Roazhon Park is like a Monday in the sun: something you will never see. Whether for Euro 1984, the 1998 World Cup or Euro 2016, Rennes remains away from major football competitions organized in France – except for the Women's World Cup in 2019. The reason for this is an insufficient gauge. Not to the taste of François Pinault, who would like a den to match the ambitions of the Rouge et Noir. The billionaire, owner of Stade Rennes, dreams of a new enclosure, around a “Pinault Land” (following the model of OL Land in Lyon) which would be a vast leisure area. The City favors expansion.

An arena to attract international big names. It's no. This was one of the conditions for the ecologists to integrate the majority of Nathalie Appéré into the 2020 municipal elections. Despite the acoustic problems and the distance from the Breton capital, it is a solution for renovating the Musikhall, in Bruz, which was privileged. The amount of the invoice? 17 million euros. Against a budget estimated at 60 million for a zenith. Pending the delivery of this new equipment, the capacity of which will pass the symbolic milestone of 10,000 seats, “Hall 9” will not be open to festival-goers for the next Transmusicales. Work is due to start in 2026, with completion in 2028.

• 3 Open sky: The buried XXL shopping center

  

  OpenSky. This was the name of this project for this “XXL” shopping center which was to join the immense shopping area around Ikéa and Cora in Pacé. Scheduled for 2021, the project aimed to accommodate 35 stores over 27,000 m² of commercial space, opposite 1,400 parking spaces. It was abandoned in 2019. Decided in 2013, Open Sky would have swallowed up 9 ha of agricultural land. He was no longer in phase with environmental issues, explained Emmanuel Couet, then president of the Metropolis. Procrastination which is increasing today against business zone projects. Last example, the Aury ZA, in Chantepie, still on standby due to the revolt of the residents and the hesitation of the majority.

• 4 Samsic Skyscraper: The Dark Tower

  

  50 m instead of 80. Intended to join the Rennes skyline – just behind the Éperon and the Horizons – and to make the EuroRennes business district shine, the tower desired by the founder of Samsic, Christian Roulleau, will only be a mid-rise building among others. The reason for the planing of this residential building which will be adjacent to the group's future headquarters? “The inflation of construction costs”, explain the project leaders. Not exceeding the 50 m threshold also allows you to avoid many constraints. The first stone should be laid before December 31, assures Thierry Geffroy, president of the services group.

• 5 Palais du Commerce: The carriage transformed into a pumpkin

  

  Renaissance. This was the name of the operation announced in 2019 to reclassify the Palais du Commerce. The current La Poste building was to become a commercial locomotive, notably with a Decathlon. In 2021, the glass extension was abandoned under pressure from residents wanting a less mineral city center. Result ? 1,500 m² lost compared to the initial project (5,000 m² of commercial space). An abandonment which has pushed certain brands to backtrack. Since then, the project has been at a standstill. “The building permit has not yet been filed,” noted opposition elected official Antoine Cressard, during the municipal council meeting on September 16. When questioned, the mayor assured “put pressure on private partners (La Poste and the Frey group). »

• 6 ViaSilva: An “ecocity” accused of “ecocide”

  

40,000 inhabitants, 25,000 jobs by 2040. Launched at the end of the 2000s, ViaSilva, between Cesson-Sévigné, Thorigné-Fouillard and Rennes was to be a new city within a major economic center, in continuity with the Rennes Atalante technology park, at the terminus of line B. “An ecocide” more than an “ecocity”, denounced the inhabitants of Cesson who made this clear to their mayor. It must be said that 650 ha of agricultural land had to be artificialized. A “city-archipelago” crime of lèse, all the less justified at the dawn of zero net artificialization (zan). Result: the project was seriously denuded. The demographic objective fell to 12,000 inhabitants, the scope of the project was divided by three and Thorigné-Fouillard left the ship.