It is no longer a mirage, it becomes reality. The fourth Gennevilliers college will see the light of day within 30 months depending on the work schedule. The project was presented Tuesday evening during a public meeting. More than future parents, it attracted a dozen residents of the neighborhood, mainly retirees. The establishment will be built a stone's throw from the Les Agnettes metro station, on the site of the former Youri-Gagarine childhood home, between rue Arthur-Rimbaud and rue de la Couture-d'Auxerre.
“This is not the land initially chosen but the one near Mersen was not compatible with a college. The prefecture had refused, recalls Patrice Leclerc, the PCF mayor of Gennevilliers. The only hold large enough was this one. We have been asking for a fourth college for at least thirty years..."
The new establishment already has a name: it will bear that of Jacques Brunhes, communist mayor of Gennevilliers from 1987 to 2001. The man who was also Secretary of State under Jospin, deputy and teacher, died in 2020.
Gennevilliers, March 27. The fourth college project was presented at a public meeting. It was mainly local residents who attended.
“This college will be built in a city where the other three are already full. The occupancy rate of colleges here is 107% and it will continue to increase with the population increase in the town,” indicates an executive from the departmental council. The project and project management were entrusted to the AIA agency.
Tuesday evening, the architects detailed at length the project which aims to be respectful of the environment. It will be largely built of wood with a green roof, water recovery systems, energy savings, use of recycled materials, educational vegetable garden, insulation and other efficient heating system.
The buildings, not all of the same height, should not exceed two floors. The meeting had not started ten minutes before a resident of the neighboring residence spoke. “The residents on the ground floor are worried,” assures the retiree. There will be even less sunshine. If we are in the dark, we will not be able to sell our apartments…”
Start of work for 2025
Another talks about the number of fewer parking spaces that all this will imply: two, four, more? A third fears the noise pollution from the basketball court in the evening. “No sports equipment from any college is used in the evening,” says Patrice Leclerc, a bit annoyed.
All aspects of the site were therefore scrutinized, including the removal of hedges and their impact on the population of hedgehogs and birds that took up residence there. “We worked with the LPO to disturb the wildlife as little as possible,” explains a member of the architectural firm. On the plant side, 61 of the 73 trees will be cut but 77 will be replanted, more than 90% of which are more than 6 meters high.
The demolition of the buildings still standing as well as the clearing and felling campaign should be completed by the end of this year. Construction is expected to begin in early 2025. It is expected to accommodate 600 students in September 2027.