On the grounds of the former KDI factory in La Courneuve, the first three social housing buildings of the ZAC Mairie are gradually taking shape. The town center is also reaching a symbolic milestone with the naming of its new streets. These constructions, visible from adjacent roads like Avenue Gabriel-Péri and Rue Victor-Hugo, are part of the initial phase of the ZAC Mairie. Ultimately, social housing will constitute 30% of the thousand planned residences in this new town center, with the remainder allocated to free market and social homeownership.
Delivery of these three complexes is scheduled for the end of 2027. The buildings will feature six stories, with the top two floors ('attics') set back from the facade. At the base of the residences, new shops and services for residents are planned. The southernmost building (lot H, 74 units) will house a solidarity grocery store and an artisanal economic activity; the central one (lot G1, 44 units) will accommodate tertiary sector activities; and the northernmost (lot E3, 46 units) will host a childcare facility.
A school group with twenty-six classrooms, located in the center of the ZAC, will open its doors in September 2028. 9,000 m² of landscaped open ground spaces are planned, including a pedestrian mall that will cross the district from east to west towards the town hall. A collective of volunteer residents, chosen by lot, previously worked on the development project, integrating some of their proposals.
The municipal council on October 8 also deliberated on the naming of three new structuring roads to be opened to traffic by 2028. The north-south axis extending Rue Lacazette towards the RER station will be named Rue Stéphane-Hessel. A transversal axis will be named Darling-Légitimus, and a secondary road will be named Mireille-Miailhe. These choices contribute to anchoring this new living space within the commune.
Stéphane Hessel (1917-2013): French diplomat and resistance fighter, co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a global figure of civic engagement. Darling Légitimus (1907-1999): Guadeloupean actress and singer, a pioneer of French cinema, winner of the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. Mireille Miailhe (1921-2010): French painter, illustrator, and resistance fighter, winner of the Fénéon Prize.
