Toulouse: For Philippe Journo, opponents of the Occitanie tower are filibustering
Philippe Journo, founding president of the Compagnie de Phalsbourg, promoter of the Occitanie tower project in Toulouse, reacts after the dismissal of the appeal by opponents of the skyscraper project before the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal. He is not surprised by this decision of the Council of State and evokes this new delay for a “magnificent project”.
“We fully expected this judgment of the Council of State, the law is clear, the Administrative Court of Appeal should have been seized directly”, we declare the promoter of the Toulouse skyscraper project, who only regrets this new delay for “a magnificent project”: “We are heading towards a new deadline, we are off again for 18 months”.
An “ecological and vegetated” skyscraper
“We welcome the positive aspect of the conclusions of the public rapporteur of the Council of State, which indicates that the associations requesting (for the cancellation of the building permit, editor’s note) are not justified in making an appeal in cassation on this case”, continues Philippe Journo, who is worried about the future reaction of opponents if the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal confirms the rejection of the request for cancellation of the building permit by the Toulouse Administrative Court: “Opponents judicial obstruction”. But he remains confident in the event of a new appeal, given the conclusions of the public rapporteur, the Council of State should reject a new appeal in cassation, according to him.
The promoter defended the “ecological character” of the 150 m high skyscraper project which must dominate the Matabiau station, the José-Cabanis Media Library and the ramblas from the site of the former SNCF sorting center and its insertion vegetated in the landscape of the Canal du Midi: “We must now build in the city like this”, if we want to counter the geographical sprawl of which large cities like Toulouse are victims.
Social housing designed by the architect of the tower
Philippe Journo also says he is open to discussion with opponents: “We are open to talking with them, in particular on the social housing aspect because, for the rest, it is difficult to talk with people who simply want ‘we don’t exist. We have tried to meet them, so far without success, we have heard the demands of the DAL (Droit au Logement, editor’s note), we are ready to build social housing, on the level of social housing planned, next to the Tour Occitanie, as part of the Grand Matabiau Quai d’Oc. Housing designed by Daniel Libeskind (the American architect of the Occitanie tower, editor’s note), that is to say with the signature of a great international architect. We made the opening with the City for this program,” adds the founding president of the Compagnie de Phalsbourg, who remains determined to complete all the legal proceedings in order to finally build his project.