The Grand Paris Express: Building on what we already have

Paris is a city that is constantly developing and optimising itself and its surrounding areas. Some important projects like “Réinventer Paris” or “Réinventer la Seine” have made it possible to renew the urban landscape and build the future through collaboration. These projects have shaped the Paris of today and tomorrow.  One significant operation which is likely to significantly change the metropolis, is that of the Grand Paris Express. This new 205km rail network, launched in 2011, will cover 68 stations around the capital. This considerable undertaking will not only change the layout of the city, but will bring new jobs and new opportunities to the capital. Paris will be more connected and attractive. Indeed, Société du Grand Paris, the public institution in charge of the project, estimates that the potential for property development could reach €80 billion. This is also a huge opportunity to reinvent the city of tomorrow and shape a more resilient and inclusive future.  New districts are being created which are integrating new climate focused and flexible actions. They represent real opportunity for change. 

The city of Paris has now got to a point where the real estate market is more saturated than ever, and has virtually run out of available land to build on. Indeed, in 2018 only 373 housing units were added to the Parisian market and 81% of office space is more than 25 years old . The Grand Paris Express is therefore going to bring new life and activity to different areas around the city, as they become more accessible thanks to faster and more intuitive links to the centre. Whereas before Paris operated on a monocentric level, with cities around its ring road being connected only by having to pass through Paris and then back out, the Grand Paris Express will foster new connections and interactions. 
 

The Grand Paris Express makes up over 200km of automated tracks, equivalent to the current metro system in place in the French capital. By focusing on the transformation of the areas around various stations, this is the largest urban development programme in Europe.

Investment in France 

• €43.3bn in 2019
• €28.2bn in 2020

Take-up area in Central Paris

• 2.1 million m2 in 2019
• 1.1 million m2 in 2020

London is ranked as the world’s No.1 most attractive city according to a MORI 2020 GPCI Report. After many years of planning and development, Crossrail, London’s ambitious overground railway, was officially given a confirmed route in 2008. Since then, the project has suffered delays, originally scheduled to open in 2018 it looks unlikely that it will do so before the end of 2021.

Investment in the UK 

• €58.4bn in 2019
• €45.9bn in 2020

Take-up area in Central London

•  1.1 million m2 in 2019
• 0.6 million m2 in 2020 

There are currently a number of infrastructure projects underway in Berlin, including the i2030 plan for the S-Bahn. A rail development programme which is much smaller than its London or Paris equivalents. 

The main part of the project is a new North-South line. 

Investment in Germany 

• €73.4bn in 2019
• €59.7bn in 2020

Take-up area in Germany (Four main markets)

• 2.9 million m2 in 2019
• 2.0 million m2 in 2020

The idea of the Grand Paris Express is therefore to strengthen the appeal of certain areas, such as La Défense and to boost new service sector hubs such as St-Denis Pleyel, which will have the highest passenger traffic within the new network, making it a key transport hub. 

What’s more, the city of Paris is working towards creating more diversity in each of these new districts, through mixed-use developments, which merge housing, offices and shops. This is to be combined with creating a more sustainable city, which actively works to reduce its carbon footprint and focus on the well-being of its inhabitants by creating an inclusive and resilient city. Concepts like the 15-minute city established by Carlos Moreno have been integrated into the project, with the idea that each hub can operate as a self-contained centre, whilst also being connected to the wider network. 

After winning several calls for tenders, BNP Paribas Real Estate is working on a number of major projects in some of these districts, which are centred on the development plans for the Grand Paris Express. 

Such projects include: 

Pont de Sèvres station:

• Scheduled to launch in 2025
•  Last stop on Line 15 South (until the Line 15 West is delivered in 2030).
• Connection with Metro Line 9 + T2 Tramway + bus lines.

Some of BNP Paribas Real Estate’s operations in the district:

Citylights

•  82,000 m2 of office space.
• Service sector building delivered in 1975, extensively restored and expanded by BNP Paribas Real Estate (delivery in 2015).
• Architect: Dominique Perrault.
• Environmental attributes: HQE passport (exceptional) – BREEAM (very good).
•  Investors: CARDIF, GECINA.

Métal 57, the new headquarters of BNP Paribas Real Estate

• 37,000 m2 of office space.
• Reconversion of sheds and the expansion of an industrial site designed in the 1980s by architect Claude Vasconi.
•  Architect: Dominique Perrault
• Delivery: 2022.
• Target: an office building that anticipates upcoming trends and aims for excellence in its environmental quality, well-being at work, integration into the city and diverse number of interactions 

Nanterre Les Groues

Train stations:

•  Gare Nanterre la Folie (RER E extension for 2022)
•  + Line 15 of Grand Paris Express set to be ready for 2030

District: 
Bordering La Défense on the Nanterre side, Les Groues is a new mixed-use district scheduled for completion in 2032. 

Spanning 65 ha, it will include: 

• 340,000 m2 of housing (nearly 5,000 lots).
• 225,000 m2 of office space.
•  65,000 m2 of activities, retail and public/private facilities

The new district, where buildings must be environmentally friendly, is expected to welcome 12,000 residents and 12,000 employees. The aim of the neighbourhood is to produce low carbon emissions, as operators will be required to build energy-efficient buildings. A number of buildings will also be connected to the same network, with 50% of their power coming from renewable energy. 

A BNP Paribas Real Estate mixed-use project is nestled in the heart of this new district. The project aims to diversify housing options, offering cultural and public activities all in one place. 

BNP Paribas Real Estate/Marignan lot

•  52,500 m2 building
• 750 housing units (50% open to the general public, 10% available under social housing programmes, 10% under intermediate social housing for rent programmes, 30% under social housing for rent programmes).
• 2,850 m2 for shops
• 5,000 m2 for social activities

The TWIST (iconic shared building)  

This mixed-use building is centrally located in Les Groues (Place d’Arras). It will combine:

• cultural activities (concert hall, recording studios, creative workshops) managed by the charity, Mains d’Oeuvres, 
•  a start-up incubator and a Fablab both managed by Créative Valley in conjunction with Nanterre and La Défense universities
•  Public facilities such as a youth centre

The Grand Paris Express has been in the pipeline for a number of years but its timing seems particularly pertinent. By opening up new districts and bringing different kinds of activity to new areas, Paris is able to become a city with many centres. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for residents to access essential goods in their local proximity became evident, and the idea of the 15-minute city, with facilities in a 15-minute radius of inhabitants’ homes has become a trend that many are convinced by. In this way, neighbourhood are become more diverse, opening up public and private buildings for use at different times of the day, night and weekends. 

With many European cities running out of real estate land, Paris is not the only capital to rethink how it uses its available space. Rather than expanding, the Grand Paris Express is a way to revitalise the existing and bring new interactions and activity to places that were previously left behind. This new way of thinking gives real estate players much more freedom to work towards cities that are sustainable, inclusive and most of all, more human. 

 Sources: Sitadel, ORIE, Calculs BNP Paribas Real Estate 
 https://www.societedugrandparis.fr/gpe/financement-192