The Nice Big Nice Projects

I rang in the New Year in Paris to the usual gray, rainy climate while dreaming of the sunshine in Nice. The sunny thoughts came easily while speaking with a client yesterday who is headed that way this weekend to look at investment properties for purchase in the Old Town and the Carré d’Or. He and his wife will say hello to “Henri-le-Cactus,” my pet cactus at “Le Matisse,” on my behalf and take in all the Riviera has to offer while on their quest.

Yesterday, Nice-Matin ran an article touting the big projects planned for the city in 2018 — all reasons that making a purchase there is a very smart idea. Nice is the 5th largest city in France and the regional capital with centuries of rich history. It offers an international airport and a substantial infrastructure for growth.

My favorite of all the projects in progress is the new West-East Tramway (Tramway 2), scheduled to be operating by 2019, with a third tram scheduled for 2020 to connect the major centers of Éco-Vallée. (Éco-Vallée is a vast urban planning project in the Valley of the Var consisting of 15 communes designed to augment the positive economic development of the Nice-Côte d’Azur. Scroll down for more information.) The West-East Tramway of 11.3 kilometers in length will connect the airport with the port in 26 minutes, stopping at 20 stations, including four underground stations.

Up to 200,000 travelers a day are expected to take advantage of the second tramway while eliminating about 20,000 cars entering the city. New parking lots at the terminals will be constructed to encourage drivers to leave their cars outside the city and hop the tram. Property along the route headed west toward the airport is already showing signs of increased values and the pedestrianized tram route is sure to blossom with new retail establishments including more cafés and restaurants…just like what happened along the route of Tramway 1. Property investors should look seriously at these areas.

Line 3 of the tram will cover 7 kilometers and connect the city center with the terminus of St-Isidore over 11 stations in 25 minutes and will circulate in part on the infrastructure of the new Line 2. It is projected to add 12,000 passengers per day in 2020. As a result of the new tramway, construction is planned of nearly 1.2 million square meters and 5,400 new housing units, expected to be completed by 2026, between the airport and St-Isidore. This will generate the arrival of an estimated 11,400 inhabitants and the creation of at least 25,000 jobs.

Éco-Vallée is a project designed to attract economic development in the field of hospitality and business tourism. Over 10,000 hectares, the area in the Var plain west of the city will be the future of the region with plans for a stadium, cultural and exhibition centers, housing, retail and parks. It is already home to a number of companies dedicated to teaching and research. The project will be in the works over several phases leading up to a completion in 2025.

Augmented transportation infrastructure is also part of these massive projects turning the Nice Saint-Augustin-Aéroport into a multimodal hub which will ultimately include a railway station (trains and TGV to Paris, Marseille or Italy), a bus station (city and interurban buses), a direct link to the city center of Nice via the tramway, bicycle stations (Blue Bike) and electric cars (Blue Auto), plus parkings-relays. The hub will occupy 90,000 square meters and be directly connected to the international airport and the network of future hubs of the Éco-Vallée.

Meanwhile, the district around the Nice-Thiers train station and the station itself is undergoing massive redevelopment. The main Nice-Ville station welcomes 8 million passengers a year, with 11 million expected by 2020. It was built in 1870, so it’s time for a face lift! The goal now is to redevelop into another multimodal hub of more than 10,000 square meters. Work has already been done on the building with better services and access to the quays within the past two years.

A new phase to integrate a commercial space adjoining Tramway 1 is in progress, with delivery in 2020. The 40-meter-high complex of 19,000 square meters will have a mixed-usage agenda with a hotel (Hilton Garden Inn, 120 rooms), an auditorium (600 seats), offices and retail services. It’s considered one of the boldest redevelopment projects ever made with an investment of 80 million euros, with completion scheduled for 2019.

A new urban site for public and private R&D organizations, “Nice Méridia,” is planned within Éco-Vallée with emphasis on business incubators, business hotels and business centers, dedicated to green technologies, as well as to the development of innovative solutions for healthcare and mobile contactless services. Architect Jean Nouvel has been contracted to develop 125 housing units divided into two energy-efficient buildings. A housing project of 2,100 dwellings will make the area attractive for a rich life style with a mix of commercial, leisure and sports activities, coupled with at public transportation system to shorten the commute to work.

This is just a few of the projects in the works, with more to come is my guess. Progressive city planning as aggressive as this is a good sign that Nice is solid, non-risk investment, not to mention a great place to live and vacation!  

For more information on all of the Grands Projets of Nice (listed below), visit the city’s website (in French).

* Tramway Ligne Ouest/Est
* Eco-Vallée de la Côte d’Azur
* Enceinte polyvalente – Allianz Riviera
* Technopole urbaine – Nice Méridia
* Quartier d’affaires – Pôle multimodal – Parc des expositions – Grand Arénas
* Parc d’affaires à vocation technologique – Technopolis
* Plateforme agro-alimentaire et horticole de La Baronne
* Gare ferroviaire – Pôle Gare Thiers
* Quartier Gare du sud
* Le Plateau des Condamines
* Les Moulins
* L’Ariane
* Pasteur
* Aménagement de la sortie ouest de la voie Mathis

You may also download the Dossier de Presse. 

A bientôt and Happy New Year,

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

(happy in Nice)

Respond to Adrian:
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P.S. If you are interested in learning more about buying property in Nice, contact us at [email protected].