Global real estate investment manager LaSalle Investment Management has been granted planning permission for the redevelopment and refurbishment of Bergère, a landmark office building in Paris.
The building is renowned for its striking façade and exceptional architectural features, such as the main atrium and the monumental staircase.
Redesigned by the French architectural firm PCA-Stream, the redevelopment is expected to complete by Q1 2026 and will have a lettable floor area of approximately 26,500 square meters.
LaSalle acquired Bergère, on behalf of Encore+, its flagship open-ended pan-European fund, in May 2020 from BNP Paribas in a sale-and-leaseback transaction.
Located in the 9th Arrondissement, in the heart of Paris, the building is in a prime location surrounded by a thriving cluster of companies from across technology, fashion, and financial and professional services. It forms part of a vibrant urban environment with a high concentration of restaurants, bars, shops, department stores, and cultural and leisure facilities.
The demand-supply imbalance for office space in the area remains acute, with Paris CBD vacancy at 1.9% compared to a European average of 7.4% as of Q3 2023, according to JLL. The area also boasts excellent transport links, just 150 metres from the Grands Boulevards metro station, providing immediate access to three of Paris’s largest transportation hubs: Gare du Nord, Saint Lazare and Chatelet – Les Halles.
The new development will include amenities to promote in-person interaction and hybrid working, including an auditorium, business center, bars and restaurants, event spaces and a media broadcast studio. It will house 442 bicycle parking spaces, with direct access from the street, as well as changing rooms, fitness facilities and 75 EV charging stations.
It will also comprise street-facing food and beverage, and a retail unit designated for affordable rent for social impact-related businesses to support the local community. It will also increase the site’s green outdoor space by 50% to more than 2,000 sqm, including a garden, two court yards and two rooftop terraces.
The building aims for a BREEAM Excellent and HQE Excellent certification with a 50% reduction in operational CO2e, and a BBCA (Bâtiment Bas Carbone) targeting a 20% reduction in embodied CO2e compared to existing Parisian office refurbishment benchmarks.
David Ironside, Fund Manager of LaSalle Encore+, commented: “The refurbishment and redevelopment of Bergère will provide a truly revolutionary workspace in the heart of Paris. The European office market has become polarised, with performance increasingly distinguished by quality, location and sustainability credentials. There is growing demand for centrally-located, recently refurbished assets with superior environmental performance ratings that align with the new standards of tenant expectations. Bergère will meet all these demands, and we are excited to unveil this new development.”
Marc Fauchille, Head of Development and Re-purposing, Europe, LaSalle Investment Management, added: “Central Paris is one of the strongest European office markets, with extremely low vacancy rates and rising demand for the highest quality space. We expect this highly amentizied building will benefit from increasing rental growth due to its outstanding central location and features that appeal to tenants and the people who work, live and socialise in this area. We will also be allocating space to support local social impact-related business, which we hope can make a real positive difference in the neighbouring community.”
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