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10 GOOD REASONS FOR CHOOSING ECO-VALLEy

 

1. A zone eligible for an industry and services development grant

2. An area of long term development with an estimated development capacity of 3 000 000 sq.m floor space

3. Proximity to Nice Cote d’Azur international airport

4. A strong growth margin for headquarters in the Côte d'Azur metropolitan area

5. A strong political impetus in favor of an economic transform of the Côte d’Azur

6. An active policy for employee housing

7. An exceptional quality of life : natural environment, sports, culture, sea and mountains ...

8. The possibility to be close to a prime example of sustainable urban development in France

9. Abundant qualified human resources

10. A proven capacity to attract talent

More Information

-Green Business made in Côte d'Azur

-Eco Vallée Activity Site

-HEQ Real Estate

 

Eco Vallée: Over 10,000 hectares, the example of a territory which is being reorganised to meet the needs of sustainable development

 

Eco Vallée marks a new phase of the development of Nice Côte d’Azu Metroprole, around a new growth model which is both ambitious in terms of the number of companies that it hopes to attract, of job creations and international appeal, but also demanding in terms of environmental and living standards.

The new face of Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole is taking shape with the Eco Vallée in the Plaine du Var

 

As part of the initiative led by Christian Estrosi, National Deputy, Mayor of Nice, and Chairman of Nice Côte d'Azur Metropole, a fundamental transformation of the town of Nice and the surrounding urban area has been underway since 2008.

With the ambition to lay the foundations for a new model for urban development, which on the one hand would give the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropole a real plan for the future in terms of resources for its economy, training and research with the focus on sustainable technologies, health and “green growth”, and on the other hand create around Nice, “The Green City on the Mediterranean”, an area that would set an ecological example on a European scale.

 

This double transformation will markedly change the concepts of spatial planning, development, work, living accommodation and leisure in Nice Côte d’Azur, offering it once again the chance to assume an avant-garde experimental role which for so long has been the hallmark of its originality and its reputation, and so as to restore its “fundamentals” of quality of life and nature.

 

These two strategies for change lie at the heart of the ambitions for the Eco Vallée and they are inseparable: Eco Vallée is as much an operation involving development as it is about spatial planning which boasts to be exemplary and which aims to act as a boost to the region as a whole.

The first Mediterranean sustainable development programme

In response to the initiative from Christian Estrosi, the State granted the plaine du Var Operation of National Interest status for two main reasons:

  • the wish to see a vast area being able to act as a showcase for the national ambitions in respect of sustainable town and country planning,
  • the possibility of drawing on the support of a town such as Nice, which has strong international features and the eco-compatible success of which could contribute to the strengthening of the infrastructure of French cities which have well established external connections.

The ability of the plaine du Var to transform on one hand, and the international potential of Nice Côte d’Azur on the other match this double ambition and justify the granting of operation of national interest status to the Eco-Vallée project.

 

The implementation of and the planning of an OIN are entrusted to a State run public development agency. The Agency with the responsibility for coordinating the OIN of the plaine du Var came into being as a result of the decree of 30 July 2008.

 

The president of the board of directors is Christian Tordo, Deputy Mayor of Nice, with responsibility for the town’s finances, economy and employment. Christian Estrosi wanted an “Executive Board” made up of the mayors of 15 towns, Members of Parliament and general councillors concerned, that would operate alongside the board of directors in the implementation of the project

A new model of economic development based on 3 principles:

 

  • to give the urban area a quantitative and qualitative boost in terms of economic development in the technological arena, in terms of endogenous development and management of the innovation chain and in the field of business tourism (creation of a high capacity exhibition park – see special sheet).
  • To bolster training and research.
  • To assemble an overall development strategy extending from eco- compatible production to the core functions of business, via R & D, and including a new model for agriculture.

Environmental showcase: multifunctionality

Eco Vallée must by definition be a real environmental showcase. This ambition takes practical form in two areas:

 

Environment:

To become a site for experimenting with and applying Grenelle’s policies, among other things by working towards a new relationship with nature, with the river and its feeder valleys (the “green/blue network”), encouraging experiments with innovative solutions and the deployment of full-scale demonstration projects, working towards an “Energy self sufficient valley”.

 

“responsible urbanisation”:

To design a new urbanism that is innovative, sustainable and suited to the Mediterranean context, structured around an eco-park:

 

  • to make appropriate use of the transitions across the valley from foothills to river, and from level to level on either side,
  • to “interweave” wild and agricultural areas with built-up areas on either bank,
  • to develop access, with links throughout the territory using unmotorized modes of transport (Intermodality),
  • to organise the valley floor according to the principles of functional and social mixing,
  • to structure urbanisation in the lower Var valley around metropolitan-grade infrastructure, on the two banks, from the delta to Lingostière / La Baronne.

The lower Var Valley plan forms part of an Ecocity which is one of the thirteen sites chosen by the government for its national Invitation to Tender. Nice Côte d’Azur aims, through Eco Vallée, to demonstrate the commitment of the entire Alpes-Maritimes region to a new way of growing and a new pattern of everyday living.

Eco-Valley leverages France’s international reputation, and in particular that of the Côte d’Azur:

Nice Côte d’Azur is one of mainland France’s best-placed areas for acting as an outstanding communication portal between France and the world.

 

As a place of “international” status, it has many distinct advantages:

 

  • a high-capacity international airport, the second biggest in France after Paris,
  • a cosmopolitan tourist trade (the Côte d’Azur hosts 10m visitors a year),
  • good facilities for business tourism,
  • a very high concentration of international banks, with many foreign depositors,
  • high net worth foreign residents,
  • a thoroughly adequate level of technology, not least in telecommunications,
  • advanced teaching and research facilities with specialisms of great international renown – in the field of health, for example
  • Sophia Antipolis park nearby,

Eco-Valley’s success will help to strengthen the international capabilities of Nice Côte d’Azur, and at the same time those of the whole Département; it will also play its part in spreading France’s influence abroad.

Visit Eco-Valley Web site:  http://www.ecovallee-cotedazur.com