Toulouse: the Halles de la Cartoucherie, future temple of gastronomy and leisure
Food hall, performance hall, climbing walls, coworking: yesterday, the Cosmopolis collective invited its partners to kick off the metamorphosis of hall 121 into a unique place, the future largest third place in France.
Built between 1908 and 1913, the concrete structure of the immense 190-meter-long Hall of the Cartoucherie, witness to the industrial past of the Pink City, will survive in an unprecedented place of the 21st century, destined to become a pole of attraction for the region. The people of Toulouse who went to Lisbon undoubtedly appreciated its large gourmet market. This is the primary vocation of the Halles de la Cartoucherie project: to offer thirty food stands with 1,500 seats around large shared tables, a bar, a brasserie … A place of conviviality, a temple of gastronomy to give priority to quality, creativity and locality.
Sport will also find its place under this roof with the installation of climbing walls, fitness rooms, yoga, squash … Upstairs, offices, meeting rooms will provide work spaces. And, in the extension of the hall, Zenith side, a new place of culture will emerge: a performance hall with 500 seats or 800 standing for a multidisciplinary program. In the former small hall 128, a four-screen cinema must also complete this new offer.
Opening in 2023
In 2016, the town hall, then owner, launched a call for projects for the restoration and operation of this place located in the heart of the eco-district still under construction of the Cartoucherie. And yesterday, in the entirely hollowed out hall, without roof or wall, dozens of guests responded to the invitation of the Cosmopolis collective, the project leader, for the laying of the first stone. After five years of a long journey, the moment is symbolic. Because the initiative is original. It emanates from several actors gathered in the SAS du Tiers places which intersects the members of Cosmopolis: the UCPA and The Roof (kingpin of the sport part), the property company Bellevilles, Palanca, Pour la route (Gilles Jumaire, producer of shows ), TMCO (catering), the property company De Watou and Immo Retail. So many private players who have joined forces with the Banque des Territoires to buy the premises from Oppidéa, the developer of the Metropolis, and carry out the work, all for € 31 million, with the help of architects OECO and Compagnie Architecture, and promoter Redman. Originality has its price: the round table has changed several times (the initiator Sylvain Barfety has left) and this is what delayed the time for launching the work. But today, the schedule is set: spring 2023 for the opening of the hall and September 2023 for the performance hall.
On 13,000 m2, “it will be the future largest third place in France,” said Gilles Jumaire at the microphone. These Halls will be “above all a place of life, of living together”, “a meeting point”, he stressed, recalling the “societal” dimension of the project and its values, “ecological transition, inclusion and “Entrepreneurship”.
“We took the riskiest project, the most original but the most valuable”, argued Jean-Luc Moudenc, in passing praising the association of private actors and public actors “who have converged”. The Region, for eco-construction, managed € 1.9 million for the project (and 2.1 for the neighboring wooden building). In villages as well as in town, “the halls provide a link, a gathering,” said Carole Delga. The President of the Region said her desire to create “a great gastronomic event” in Toulouse and her wish that these Halles “accelerate the take-off” of the regional capital.
1,600 housing units delivered to the eco-district
Launched in 2006 on the site of the former Cartoucherie, the eco-district is still under construction on its thirty-three hectares. To date, Oppidea, the developer of Toulouse Métropole, announces that it has delivered 1,600 homes out of the 3,500 planned. The key to the district is its diversity: housing, offices (78,000 m2), public facilities (15,000 m2 including a school group and a nursery), higher education (12,000 m2), shops (5,000 m2), and two hectares of natural spaces. The eco-district is served by two tram stations. It includes three parking lots in silos. And a single level of parking under buildings to limit car space. No rainwater comes out of the neighborhood. And the heating comes from the heat network of the incinerator. A large green promenade crosses the entire area, extended into the large hall by a tree-lined section.