Apsys CEO Fabrice Bansay said that the urban development specialist “loves the city” as he laid out plans for the company to continue to focus on city-centre schemes under its new ‘Making Cities Vibe’ initiative.
The French-based developer has completed a number of flagship urban schemes in French cities and has achieved planning approval for its ambitious Bordeaux project, Bordeaux Saint-Jean, which is expected to begin construction in mid-2021, with completion in late 2023. The 70,000 sq m project includes 45,000 sq m of retail and 25,000 sq m of residential, office and hotel space.
Bansay said that he expects the mixed-use project, which integrates with the city streets, to become “a reference for French city-centre schemes” upon completion and said that it would “reshape the way people live in the city, because you will be able to work, live, shop and be entertained in the same area”.
Such is the quality of the architecture, public realm and entertainment being targeted, Bansay said that the company dubbed the approach “urban haute couture” and he said that the aim is for the public spaces to be an attraction when Bordeaux hosts festivals, concerts and major sporting events.
However, he also stressed that while mixed use is now a common approach to new developments, it is something that Apsys has been actively promoting for over a decade, with a variety of completed projects around France that “put community first”.
He said: “We were one of the first to take this approach and we believe that projects have to be about much more than retail, because these schemes have a cultural role within their communities. They need to be places which add to the vibe of the urban environment.”
