The CBO Territoria group is building on 78 hectares of the locality on the outskirts of Saint-Denis.
A small piece of France 9,000 kilometres from the mainland, Reunion Island has a population of 830,000. And should have 1 million in 2030. Hence the strong need for housing in a rugged territory of 2550 km that is only partly exploitable by man. The group CBO Territoriawhich has significant land reserves of 3,200 hectares on the island thanks to the contribution of part of the land of the former Bourbon sugar group, is now betting on building Beauséjour, an entire town overlooking the economic capital, Saint-Denis, facing the ocean. And an eco-sustainable city.
" We went to Freiburg as early as 2007 and this made us aware of the importance of sustainable development in the field of development," explains Éric Wuillai, CEO of CBO Territoria. "
On a 78-hectare site, 2,000 housing units are to be built (including 800 social housing units), mostly small buildings and houses. An 8-hectare park, the headquarters of the Caisse d'allocations familiales, school facilities and 20,000 m² of shops and services will enliven the site. This ambitious project represents an investment of €500 million between now and 2020. The aim is to build a new living environment for 8,000 inhabitants and eventually become a magnet for 11,000 people from the surrounding districts.
Unnecessary air conditioning
Storm basins to retain rainwater, varangues, natural ventilation, waste treatment, native plants, transport, everything has been thought out to reduce energy consumption and move directly from today's sugar cane fields to a clean city. A nod: home buyers will receive electric bicycles.
"The constraints are not the same in a tropical climate. We're inventing new ways of achieving sustainable architecture and proving that it's possible to do without air conditioning," explains Antoine Perrau...architect of one of the real estate programs.
The group, including Jacques de Chateauvieux (Bourbon group) is the reference shareholder with 20% of the capital, is listed on Alternext and plans to move to Euronext within a year. In this operation, it is both developer and promoter on its own land. It will retain part of the buildings, which it will lease as a real estate company, and will market others to investors and first-time buyers at an average price of 3,100 euros per square metre.
" We first design a real estate product before making tax exemption. We offer sufficient surface areas to meet the demand ", assures Jean Jacques Ballesterthe Deputy Director General. On the hillside, the first buildings are being constructed, metropolitans have already bought some apartments reducing their taxes in the same way within the framework of tax exemption. The tax conditions will be tightened next year, but CBO Territoria wants to stay on course.
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Source : Le Figaro – Carole Papazian