Carrefour and altarea have just announced a partnership to transform and enhance the value of real estate assets

Driven by the same desire to play a key role in developing the city of the future, Carrefour and Altarea have decided to join forces to help deliver three urban development projects in Nantes, Sartrouville and Flins/Aubergenville. Carrefour co-owns these sites – totalling some 25 ha – with Carmila. By the time they have been completely overhauled, they will have become bustling hubs where people congregate, in addition to their primary commercial purpose.

These projects will all be underpinned by common aims:

●    Design the neighbourhoods of the future, working in conjunction with local authorities and elected representatives,

●    Develop and create neighbourhoods that fit in with their environment, providing residents with new green living spaces and a wide range of uses,

●    Encourage the creation of environmentally-friendly forms of mobility by having services located nearby.

With its more than 5000 stores in France, Carrefour has always had its roots in the heart of the regions in which it operates. Since people’s lifestyles and needs have changed, towns and cities need to evolve to keep pace with them. Within the framework of its transformation plan, Carrefour wants to play a key role in the urban and sustainable development of the regions in which it operates. Beyond simply providing retail services, Carrefour wants to take action to enhance people’s lives in cities by developing mixed urban projects.

“Carrefour is absolutely certain that retail needs to play more of an urban and social role. The coverage that our stores provides is a major asset, and we want to use it to enable us to help create the cities of the future. To this end, we have identified three shopping centres in sectors where urban dynamics are undergoing a profound change. These projects will be developed in partnership with Altarea. The idea is therefore to create new neighbourhoods that meet the new expectations of our customers and residents by pooling our expertise“,

Jérôme Nanty, the Group’s Head of Assets and Executive Director for Human Resources.

Because of its integrated model which covers all activities in the real estate sector (stores, housing and offices), Altarea is today able to share its expertise and know-how in delivering major mixed projects. It is currently delivering such projects in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Bezons and Bobigny, positioning itself as a fully-fledged partner serving the public interest of cities and the people who live in them. The Altarea group will therefore be joining forces with the Carrefour group, helping to transform and implement global development projects which involve re-converting business sites and creating new, diversified uses.

”The sites that we are going to rehabilitate with Carrefour were in suburban locations when they were built, but have since been overtaken by urban development. This new partnership will transform these commercial areas into new mixed, lively and animated neighbourhoods. They will give new impetus to these regions, and will recreate economic value. We share a vision of what the city of the future should look like with the Carrefour group: a city that is rebuilt on itself, a city in which everything is within easy reach, one where places where people congregate, houses, retail facilities and working areas are all in the same place, a city where ground-planted areas are recreated"

Jacques Ehrmann, Managing Director of the Altarea Group.