Hermitage to go ahead with 310-m tower in Courbevoie

Hermitage, the French subsidiary of Russia’s Stroïmontage Group, said on Wednesday it has chosen another location for the 310-metre tower development it had initially planned for La Défense’s new iconic building, Tour Signal.

Hermitage, which commissioned the project to French architect Jacques Ferrier, was one of the five companies shortlisted for the international tender organised by EPAD, the body overseeing the development of Paris’ business district. EPAD on Tuesday awarded the tender to French architectural firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel, whose project involves Spanish investors Medea and Layetana Desarrollos.

Hermitage said it has decided to relocated its ‘Hermitage Towers’ project to Coubevoie, in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. The new project will replace the residential buildings Damiers d’Anjou and Damiers de Bretagne which currently house 250 apartments, of which 40 are state-subsidised. Hermitage said that 21 families have already agreed to move to a new building the company acquired at the end of April in Courbevoie-La Défense. The remaining 178 families will be offered new accommodation within the next few weeks, it added.

The tower will provide about 250,000 m² of space, of which 30,000 m² will be destined for offices, 120,000 m² for residential, 50,000 m² for hotel and 40,000 m² for shops. The project represents an investment of more than EUR 1bn. The company plans to sell the apartments at a price of EUR 10-12,000 per m².

Construction work is due to begin in 2010, with delivery scheduled for 2014.

In Moscow, Hermitage Immobilier is currently developing the Federation tower, which at 506 metres is set to become Europe’s highest building.