Brought together in a cooperative, the 22 future owners will integrate their accommodation in the fall of 2025. After the Ecohameau du Claux in Olmet and the Caminade in Lodève, this is the 3rd project of this type in Lodévois.
The Îlot Vert de la Soulondres grouped housing project carried out in Lodève on a large plot of 6,600m² near the college is progressing. Since last spring, and the laying of the first stone, the terrain has changed a lot. If the part along the river remains wild, a market gardening area and an orchard are also taking shape. Right next door, a new building has been built, while the existing farmhouse is being renovated.
Within a year, the 22 housing units will be delivered and each member of the residents’ cooperative will be able to return home.
An environmental approach, based on mutual aid and solidarity
“We will install the roofs at the start of the year, the interiors will be completed in the spring for final delivery in October 2025. The accommodation, half of which is social, ranges from 38m² to 80m² and we will have a bedroom on the ground floor. guest rooms, laundry room, workshop and various common areas” confirms Alexandre Néagu, the architect of the Montpellier firm Datcha, accompanied by Agnès Mazoyer, the project management assistant and an “Architecture” group made up of future residents.
After a long process which included the response to a call for applications from the city, the constitution of the cooperative, the submission of the building permit and 2021 and the preparation of files to find financing… Everything is accelerating. “We have benefited from the experience of other projects of this type in Lodévois, such as La Caminade which our firm also supported. And from a strong political choice of the City and the State to support them, adds the architect. The design is collective, each cooperator participated in their accommodation, according to their life project”.
Cooperators who come from Lodève, the region but also from Lille, Mende, Avignon or Perpignan, seduced by the approach and its environmental values, mutual aid and solidarity.
“We can imagine collective life, in independent apartments” continue Christophe, Noëlle and Germain, all members of the cooperative. “We still have an apartment to fill of 77m², in which we wish to settle a family and for which there is a waiting list.”
“Today, we know that our project will come to fruition”
“Today, we know that our project will come to fruition, even if the budget is not completely finalized in a changing context” rejoices Noelle. “The involvement is total and we learn a lot from this collective adventure, starting with shared governance. Everything is not just measured in money” continues Christophe. “Perhaps we will have to put on the last coat of paint, we will have to launch small participatory projects for the finishing touches” finally smiles Germain who counts on sharing knowledge and mutual aid with the neighbors of the Caminade and the Eco Hameau du Claux in Olmet, the two other collective projects in Lodévois. “We are adapting, with a lot of good will, solidarity and volunteer time”.
Because each stage has its challenges, its choices that had to be overcome.
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