Canadians to develop Paris twin towers

Canada's Caisse de Dépôt du Québec has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire the rights to develop the Jean Nouvel-designed Duo towers in Paris.

Located in the Rive Gauche district of Paris, the two skyscrapers are planned to reach a height of 175 and 115 meters respectively. They will only be built on condition that 50% of the space is pre-let.

The buildings will provide around 105,000 m2 of space including 91,000 m2 of offices, 4,500 m2 of retail and a hotel. They are expected to be delivered in 2019 or 2020.

The construction permit will be sought in the first half of 2014.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, part of the Canadian group, won the competition to construct the twin-tower complex in the city’s 13th arrondissement in April last year. The project, representing an investment of some €600 mln, was selected over projects from three competing teams. Hines is Ivanhoe Cambridge's development partner in the project.