When most people think of Paris, they only think of Paris proper, meaning the 20 neighbourhoods that exist within the confines of the Boulevard Périphérique. But as we talked about yesterday, that is quickly changing as a result of new investments in transit, a more porous border (le Périph), and progressive new developments. Greater Paris is transforming itself into a larger and more cohesive urban region, and it is creating what is, in effect, a new Paris.

Because of this, the preconceived notions that many Parisians hold about the areas outside of the Périph are changing. Old money has long clustered in the western inner suburbs, eschewed the east, and preferred to drive. But today a new generation is colonizing the east and making different mobility choices while they're at it.

Earlier this week, I got a taste of what that looks like. Olivier Raoux and Amaury De Benoist of Alios Développement were kind enough to invite me to tour two of their projects, one of which is on the other side of the Périph and called Les Grandes-Serres de Pantin. So I got up early, pretended I was going to work like everyone else, and jumped on the metro in the 10ème. Within 15 minutes I was at Église de Pantin station. And a few minutes after that, I was crossing the Ourcq Canal.

The first thing I noticed was the people. It was just after 8am and it was busy. Everyone, including young children, seemed to be biking to work or school. I had been expecting to find a neighbourhood that was on its way to becoming something, but instead I found a neighbourhood that had seemingly already arrived, and I was late. It was also further evidence that Paris is now unapologetically a biking city.

Once across, I learned that a new pedestrian bridge is also going to be built leading directly from the metro station to the site, making the short commute from transit even shorter. Here is the mockup:

This pedestrian bridge will connect to a new public plaza at the entrance to the project's anchor building. A former spring factory from the late 19th century, it will soon serve as the focal point for a new mixed-use office park. Its program will include a food market, daily retail services, schools, a large auditorium, DJ events, and the project's first office tenants, among other things. It's a major forward investment, but one that will provide many of the amenities for the larger development — and clearly establish a place in Pantin.

As a quick aside, during our site walk, the gentleman below asked me if I would take his photo. He then asked where the photo would be used (I told him it would be on this world-renowned blog), and he took note of the URL. But unfortunately, I didn't get his name. So if you're reading this monsieur, please get in touch with your details at hello@globizen.com and I'll update this post with a credit to you.

In addition to the main hall, the project's first ground-up office building is also under construction.

The structure is a combination of cast-in-place concrete (which, by the way, was of truly impressive quality) and mass timber floor slabs. By code, the mass timber slabs must be encapsulated, which is also the case in Canada above certain heights. But that has not stopped the top floor of the building from looking like this:

I spent a morning with Olivier and Amaury, and I can say Alios shares many of the same values that guide our work at Globizen. They invest in architecture and design, they focus on quality of place, and they work diligently to build their city in ways that other developers may be overlooking. It was impressive to see. Thank you both, once again, for being so generous with your time and for inviting me to tour your projects.

I'll also add that I left the meeting feeling genuinely excited about the future of Paris. Or should I say, new Paris. Step outside the Périphérique and you’ll find neighbourhoods humming with energy, creativity, and new ideas.

Paris has a massive transit project that is currently under construction called the Grand Paris Express. It consists of 4 new metro lines, 1 line extension (at both ends), 68 new stations, and 200 km of new tracks. The first phase was the extension of Line 14. That opened last year. And the new lines are planned to open in stages up until 2031. I have no idea if they're on schedule and/or on budget, but here's a map of the GPE project:

We just checked into our "aparthotel" in Paris. This is the last leg of our trip, and one that will incorporate some work-related meetings.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I plan on doing a comprehensive review of our accommodations, since this is a real estate asset class that I'm increasingly interested in. But before doing that, I'd first like to "live" here for a few days. So in the interim, here's a photo of the fire safety plan for our building that some of you may find interesting: