The third edition of ULI France’s – “Building Cities Differently” city tours – took place in early April in Nantes, following successful earlier visits to Bordeaux and Marseille.

Jean-Luc Charles, general manager of local public entity, Samoa, the West Atlantic Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, welcomed the group of ULI members to the Île de Nantes, the unique urban redevelopment project on a French island. It is a vast area (337 hectares) of opportunity with almost 1.5 million sq. m of buildable space located just steps from the historic city centre. As contracting owner, Samoa carries out preliminary studies, develops public spaces, manages the land and former industrial sites.

Alain Robert, deputy mayor and vice president of Nantes Métropole, elaborated on the city history and the various urban redevelopment programs before a presentation of the Nantes property market by Alan Josse, president of the club CINA.

The tour group took the opportunity of visiting the unparalleled Creative Factory, an ecosystem composed of a multitude of actors and partners (entrepreneurs and project promoters, students, teachers and researchers, artists, non-profits and scientific and technical culture leaders) in an open and partnership-based process, with various objectives like building bridges with higher education and research, structuring and leading the creative enterprises network and promoting collaborative processes.

Following this, the group visited the exceptional La Galerie Des Machines, the creative district, and the Alstom Halles before being hosted by the deputy mayor in charge of urban development, mobility, and landscapes at Nantes City Hall.

The second day of the tour focused on the – Nantes Métropole Aménagement, the urban development mixed office and residential project of Malakoff/ Pré Gauchet, and the business district close to the Euronantes railway station.

For more information, contact ULI France Executive Director, Melanie Charpentier, [email protected]