Marseille, France. Tall metal fencing encloses the upper section of the park around Villa Valmer, making citizens question the agreement to keep the park 100% public. The heat rose and construction halted after unauthorized demolition of an annex building occurred mid April 2021.
In Marseille, like other cities in France, a number of once privately owned estates of prominent, wealthy figures were turned over to the state to become public assets, providing additional green parks for citizens. How long they remain public, though, is another story.
The previous mayor of Marseille had the ball rolling on a project to transform the historic Villa Valmer into a 5-star hotel. Last year, in the middle of COVID-19 restrictions, citizens elected a new mayor, representing the left-wing socialist, environmentalist party called du Printemps Marseillais, launched in 2019.
Recently, the Marseillais celebrated a partial victory over the historic Villa Valmer whose transformation into a 5-star hotel was still en route but whose overall initial project would see several changes: the park would remain 100% public instead of the original plan of 90%, it would include an artists residency, a yoga studio and more. When the large metal fence went up, encircling the upper section of the park around the villa, a number of citizens were less believing in the promise of accessibility.
“Voleur” (thief) was tagged on the entrance gate to the driveway which leads uphill to the villa, to the left of the park entrance gate which remains open. As serenity seekers walk into the park, a giant metal fence separating the lower and upper sections of the park has generated concern, notably after the contractors destroyed part of the annex building on April 13, 2021.
They didn’t have a license authorizing them to dismantle that particular building and stated it was an accident, which puts to question promoter Pierre Mozziconacci‘s overall investment of 13.9 million euros to carry out the work. In fact, the municipality is currently considering whether to break the lease.
On April 28, city officials published a press release stating construction is halted indefinitely until further notice.
How did the project come to be?
The villa was falling into a financial abyss caused by restoration and maintenance expenses. Previous representatives of the city council deemed it necessary to transform the villa into luxury accommodation in order to diversify the ‘Marseille offer’ in this area.
The council believed the 5-star hotel project at Villa Valmer would protect its heritage while taking advantage of the location of the site and of the architecture that would attract a wealthy clientele.
In 2018, the City of Marseille announced the winner of its call for projects launched in 2016 to find a new tenant at Villa Valmer: an independent 5-star hotel presented by real estate company SCI Fimo, with a Prestigious affiliation of the Leading Hotels of the World or Small Luxury Hotels type with 39 rooms, with a brasserie, a gym, a small spa, a seminar room, an outdoor swimming pool and an underground car park with 15 spaces, as highlighted in the report from the City of Marseille adopted on April 9, 2018, during the City Council.
Behind the project selected by the municipal jury is the Marseille architecture agency 331 Corniche, led by architects Vincent D’Ortoli and Philippe Puvieux, who are currently refusing to comment on the project.
Orbis Média is responsible for the communication and interfaces with the public park, Trilogy Hospitality for management and hotel engineering, and BBR conseil will be responsible for the financial arrangement of the operation.
Regarding the management of the future hotel, it is an emphyteutic lease for a period of 60 years, for an annual rent of 300,000 euros paid to the city—although some news articles have this number at 570,000 euros and we have not been able to confirm the true amount.
Ever since the initial announcement of the project, citizens have been making their voices heard that they would not accept their beloved park turning private with a petition signed by 13,000 people by November 2016. They were against the 5-star hotel as well, stating the demographic of who would be able to enter excludes the majority of the Marseillais, as the city has a rather low percentage of high-income earners.
Adaptations to the project, such as maintaining the park “100% public”, followed the pushback from citizens. Opposition resulted in change, not only in regards to accessibility to the park but a promise that the brasserie would be reasonably priced in order to welcome guests of all walks of life.
Villa Valmer’s History Began with the Wealthy
Architect Henry Condamin designed the neo-renaissance-style Villa Valmer, constructed in 1865 on behalf of Count Charles Gounelle, a wealthy merchant from Salon-de-Provence who made his fortune in the oilseed sector by negotiating oils made from raw materials from five continents.
The discreet building, originally called Vague à la Mer, sits on top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean sea in the same city that had, at the time of the villa’s construction, one of the busiest ports in the world. The villa cannot be seen from the corniche below, with the exception of one spot, nor while walking around the lower section of the park.
In 1940, the war broke out and it was requisitioned by the German navy (Kriegsmarine) until later returned. The National School of the Merchant Navy (ENSM) retained the property from 1945 to 1975. The ENSM moved out, and the town hall of Marseille moved in—for patrimonial, cultural, architectural and historical reasons.
Although the town hall moved locations in 2002, the villa has remained the property of the city which allowed the villa to be used by an international cooperation office under the direction of the World Bank, containing various agencies in charge of economic cooperation in the Mediterranean basin. It housed the services of the prestigious organization headquartered in Washington DC.
Operations ceased and the villa was left mostly alone, shutters often closed, except for special occasions.
What will become of it now?
