In Toulouse, the spectacular site of the former UGC cinema
The reconversion of the former UGC cinema, which is to house the FNAC in two years, began with the demolition of the buildings on the rue d’Austerlitz side.
Rue d’Austerlitz, a small street located between the Victor-Hugo market and the Roosevelt alleys, passers-by mark a stop and some even take the time to take a photo to immortalize the scene. The image – especially in the heart of downtown Toulouse – is impressive. The four buildings of numbers 2 bis, 4, 6 and 8, three stories high, were completely razed. In recent days, the mechanical shovels are busy on an impressive pile of rubble. The roadway has been raised with earth and, on the sidewalk, on the side opposite the works, a palisade protects passers-by and businesses.
Started in November, the conversion site of the former UGC cinema, closed since July 2019, has taken a spectacular turn with this first phase of demolition which is being carried out from rue d’Austerlitz. The four buildings, which had also been purchased by Caso Patrimoine, were in poor condition. Three of them had been closed since a threat of collapse dating back to 2014. Their disappearance is therefore a boon for the district.
Passers-by can now discover the back wall of the cinema. He too will be destroyed. Then the whole of the building with the sole exception of the listed facade of the UGC which evokes the theater first integrated there by Urbain Vitry around 1837.
A rooftop restaurant
After a phase of asbestos removal, the demolition will therefore continue. A major operation, with its ballet of trucks, but also delicate because all this takes place in the middle of inhabited buildings and above one of the metro tunnels, a connecting tunnel for lines A and B.
From the Roosevelt alleys to the rue d’Austerlitz, the old cinema and the old buildings will give way to an ambitious construction project led by the Taillandier firm. In the basement, on the ground floor, then on the first two floors, a large commercial space must accommodate the FNAC which thus moves from the site of the Americans by crossing the street. The third floor will be partly occupied by offices. And a restaurant, which, with its stage, could be converted into a cabaret during shows, take place on the third and fourth level, on the roof where a pergola flowered with wisteria is to be set up. In total, 5,600 m2 will be available on six levels.
The project is scheduled over a period of two years. “Les Variétés”, which will resume their original name, should open in 2025. Rue d’Austerlitz, a brand new facade will then be offered to passers-by. It will take up the alignments of the neighboring buildings, in particular on the ground floor a succession of five symmetrical arcades.