When the coffers are empty, there’s no point in dreaming; it’s better to be pragmatic. Green concrete or concrete green, that’s the winning combination for the development, requalification, and enhancement project of the former Ray stadium site, an emblematic location in the sports history of Nice.
In summary, the construction of 250 housing units (30% rental) will allow the municipality to finance the requalification of over 6 hectares into public and commercial facilities, parking spaces (658 spots), while maintaining a balance between green and sports spaces.
A deal not necessarily pleasing to everyone (see the statement by the president of the PS group, Patrick Allemand, below) but one without alternative: “It’s this or we keep the current wasteland,” said Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, to a few neighborhood residents who nodded at the announcement of tripling the number of housing units compared to other forecasts.
However, the developers are not philanthropists, and with only 80 housing units, it wasn’t viable. And when talking about a total investment (direct and indirect) of over 100 million euros, it’s better to get the figures right!
Yet this project is part of this structural axis that links it to the Gare du Sud, currently under construction, and to Thiers/Jean Médecin, undergoing modernization.
Further ahead, on the horizon, lies the green corridor.
The selection jury, whose members were appointed by the municipal council with the responsibility of choosing a winning project to be submitted to the next Municipal Council vote (in June), made the choice for a “Nice eco-neighborhood”: the chosen plan was that of the world-renowned architect Edouard François, in partnership with the Nice-based firm (ABC) of architect Jean-Philippe Cabane.
This project was preferred for its landscaping quality, through the proposal of a large urban leisure park spanning almost 3 hectares (over 50% of the total space), which will include the creation of children’s playgrounds as well as the rehabilitation of the existing Mouchan garden (0.3 hectares).
The creation of a 600 m² fencing hall and a 3,000 m² Dojo, in the rehabilitation of an existing commercial space (Carrefour), and the extension and modernization of the Ray school.
The final provision of a supplementary housing offer (250). This section will include 5,000 m² of retail space on the buildings’ ground floors (transferring the existing Carrefour Market from across the boulevard, next to the tower where the Dojo will be established).
In total, on a site with a total area of 6 ha: about 3.2 hectares are already occupied (school group, housing buildings), 1 hectare of new construction planned by the operation, and 2.8 hectares preserved and developed into a landscaped urban park.
The administrative process and authorizations allow for the start of demolition work in 2016, with the first housing deliveries at the end of 2018, aiming for the operation’s completion in 2019.
On the project’s sidelines, the Mediterranean TC will also find a definitive destination: the tennis facilities will be relocated close to the fields that will be preserved as they are.
Lastly, regarding the creation of an approved large game field located in Nice north to replace the Kockzur FERRY stadium, which will be demolished at the beginning of the first semester of 2016. This relocation is envisaged on the “Les Mourailles” plot, situated at the exit ramp of the A8 highway at the foot of the GAIRAUT hill.
This will involve creating an 11-player synthetic surface football field, exclusively dedicated to football, integrated into a developed natural park that will include a sports track, environmental discovery areas, and pedestrian paths.
Statement by Patrick Allemand
Ray Project: ESTROSI hostage to developers
The presentation of the Ray project to neighborhood committees and the press confirmed what the opposition has been denouncing since the construction of the Allianz Riviera. The city’s coffers are empty, and the debt is at its maximum.
As a result, to build the necessary public facilities, which are widely supported—Dojo, 568-space parking lot, fencing hall, large game field—the mayor has to have them financed by real estate developers.
Between ESTROSI’s promises as a candidate in 2014 and the reality of the project presented tonight, the number of housing units has tripled, from 80 to 250. The concreting of Ray is underway, and we will resolutely oppose it.
