What will become the Point du Jour shopping center in the Belvédère district? This is the question which will be studied this Monday evening by the Talant municipal council. A renovation project has been on the table since 2021, because this building, built in the 1970s, is dilapidated and needs major work.
Mayor Fabian Ruinet proposes a major restructuring of this 6 hectare areaincluding the creation of 80 to 120 housing units. A project rejected by the opposition groups “Pour Talant” and “Vivre Talant”. Since the town hall has launched a first consultation throughout the city, and in parallel, these two opposition groups have in turn launched a citizen consultation, to show the refusal of residents to see new housing in this areaaccording to them “too densely populated”. More than 87% of respondents who responded expressed their refusal to see new housing and requested the preservation of the shopping center, to have a real local offer.
Residents and traders worried about this project
In this shopping center, traders are a little perplexed by this restructuring project proposed by the town hall. Marie, manager of the solidarity thrift store, points a real lack of information : “We don't know much! Since the start of the project, we have been told that there will be a major renovation, but we don't know if we will be rehoused, compensated, under what conditions, at what price?”she explains, even though she has worked at Point du Jour for more than 20 years. Delphine, a loyal fan of the store, took part in the citizen consultation: “I replied that I did not agree with this project, and that on the contrary, we must continue to keep this shopping mall alive and progress! It is a friendly place, we all meet there. Before, there were a lot more businesses, but many have closed, and it’s a shame because we had everything there!”
Phéline Leloir-Duault
Fabien works at the Super U of the gallery, and for him, this renovation can be an asset and provide more security : “They are trying to beautify the neighborhood, to improve it, so let's hope it will be better! Especially for the traders, so that they feel safer and so that they don't have to come with a lump in their stomach in the morning, when they noticed that their window had been broken, that they had been robbed. There was too much damage, so they were fed up!”he indicates.
Conversely, Kloma does not want to see this shopping center disappear in favor of new housing: “Putting new housing in an area where the density is already very high can only increase possible demographic problems”pleads this resident of Talant since his birth. “So I think we should focus on local businesses that meet the expectations of residents, and that is not the case today. We should also encourage the creation of businesses, because creating businesses means is creating jobs, and it would give a second wind to this neighborhood!” His fear is to see this neighborhood will become a dormitory town.
“If we want to maintain businesses, we need local customers!”
The mayor of Talant Fabian Ruinet affirms that on the contrary, building new housing will allow the gallery to find a new dynamic : “Our objective is to guarantee the 60 jobs that are here, but also to make it a center of life which allows us to regain commercial dynamics. If we want to maintain businesses, we must also develop customers and those who will live above the shops will necessarily be customers who will consume on site.he elaborates.
He denies any density of the area: “This project concerns the area over 6 hectares, and in these 6 hectares, there is not a single housing unit! So the density is not there. Our objective is to say that we can do something and it must be done in the interest of the residents of the neighborhood. The idea is that there is a mix of uses: housing, businesses and also municipal services, such as the municipal police. already established in the shopping center.”
“The people of Talant will pay for this financial madness!”
“This housing project does not correspond at all to the project that was initially presented to us in 2021”denounces opposition councilor Adrien Guené. “So in financial terms, the budget is exploding: we go from 800 to 1 million euros at the start, to today eight to 10 million euros borne by the municipality. It is therefore the people of Talant who will pay this financial madness! We risk having a lot of things postponed, important work for the rest of the city, because we are stuck in a disproportionate project for this shopping center, which needs to be renovated.”
This town hall project is, according to him, mostly criticized by residents: “With our citizen consultation, we had almost 90% refusal of new housing, so it's not us who are saying it! Around this idea, there is the question of the living environment. We know that we must housing in the metropolis and in Talant But should we always concentrate housing in the same place and ultimately also concentrate the same difficulties?he asks. “This shopping center is the heart of life in Belvédère, some have known it for 40 years and they are attached to it because they find all the local shops like the supermarket, the pharmacy. It is really completely out of step with the city of tomorrow, and there, with this project, we are remaking the city of the 70s. I believe that we have a mayor who has remained with his feet in the 20th century, and it is time for him to realize that the 20th century started 20 years ago!”
