Behind the scenes of the Saint-Sever shopping center, in Rouen: a changing place
Through Fabien Massin
Published on
He is the older brother of Platform 76, a Rouen (Seine-Maritime), and its left bank pendant: the Saint-Sever shopping center, in the heart of the eponymous district. Small visit of the place with its director, Audrey Anne, also responsible for Docks 76, of which we had presented behind the scenes in the second episode of our series.
750 people employed
The Saint-Sever shopping center has been a neighborhood institution since 1978. With a surface area of 48,000 square meters, it includes 100 shops, with the particularity, compared to Docks 76, of having a hypermarket (E. Leclerc). It is a commercial juggernaut, in all, it employs 750 people. On the side of the management team, there is therefore Audrey Anne, a management assistant, a communication / marketing manager, a technical director common to the two centers, and moreover, the same external service providers (cleaning, maintenance, security, parking and reception).
In the morning, the center opens earlier than at the Docks, from 7:30 am, due to the crossing character of the center, in the district, and the presence next to the Saint-Sever tram station. For the daily routine, the operation in the two establishments are similar: morning “clearing” – all the floor is washed, as well as the windows, depending on the day -, deliveries, preparation of shops for opening, arrival customers, continuing an activity in the evening with only the restaurants and the cinema, setting the lights to night mode, night work as needed, special atmosphere on weekends, etc.
Strong nighttime activity
On the technical level, however, things are different: the older, venerable Saint-Sever center requires more corrective interventions, related to breakdowns or leaks, also knowing that these operations are generally more complex to perform than those relevant to preventive maintenance. In addition, all the machinery part (heating, smoke extraction, air conditioning, boiler, fire safety) is located in the basement, and not on the roof.
Primark in the viewfinder …
And there is the whole site of the redesign of the center, since 2018, which is shaking up his daily life. “This is what makes Saint-Sever much more important at night than at the Docks,” says Audrey Anne. Every night, there are between 20 and 25 people working on this site. The first two phases, consisting of creating a new space – the “Verrière” (including a “food hall” and involving the relocation of the cinema) – and the comprehensive renovation of the historic part of the center, have been completed.
The last one remains, the one preparing the Primark room. The preparatory work in the former Duchamp / Villon theater, led by the shopping center, began two months ago, and should continue until November 2022. Then, the Irish clothing giant will take possession of the premises , and will make its own adjustments, for an opening in the course of the year 2023.
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