In an area with both financial potential and an original cultural background Station Alexandre plans to pump new blood into a part of Marseille that time had forgotten.
When chartered accountant, Sylvie Caulet, came across Station Alexandre a remnant of Marseille’s industrial past it was love at first sight. The project came into fruition when Caulet discovered this old oil factory in the Canet district of Marseille, with a sorting station whose metal framework was designed by none other than Gustave Eiffel. In fact she found it so unique that she decided to try and buy it and little by little, set about renovating the whole complex. Caulet called on Eric Castaldi, the architect behind the renovation of the Joliette Docks to ask if he would be interested in getting the station back on track. In a few months time in October the 10,000 mÇ area with 6700 mÇ rental space will be converted into a business complex. The idea is to bring some one hundred small businesses to the duty free site. As was to be expected, potential investors are already lining up and as of today 80% of the rental space has already been reserved. Apart from the profit-making imperative, Station Alexandre is set to be a great place to hang out. The plans include a 150 place car-parking facility, 3 restaurants, a Parisian brasserie, a bank, a postal service and a medical and paediatrics centre. There will also be a host of cultural events and an association bringing together members of the artistic community has been set up to deal with the already impressive number of proposals. This the second district of Marseille to be brought back to life with a total renovation plan and is already hailed the IN place to be.
