“We came close to the drama” concedes Laurent Maennel, manager of the city center of the Town Hall of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin). The civil servant returns to this incident on January 9 when a metal end 2 m long detached from the facade of the Le Printemps store in the iron man district, around 5 p.m. “At this rush hour, there are a lot of people on the sidewalks. It is a miracle that there was no injuries ”recognizes the manager.
“It’s the city center wart”
An incident that testifies to the dilapidation of the building, abandoned since its closure three years ago. “They wanted to make a design facade at the time and ten years later, we end up with a very degraded awful building. It is the wart of the city center, ”comments Sofiane, a local resident.
Since the closure in 2022, tags and graffiti have accumulated on the walls of the old department store. A building that belongs to date to a real estate civil society. “Since the fall of this sheet, the building police have intervened, but it is up to the location manager to resume the safety of the premises,” recalls Averse Firmie Laurent Maennel.
Owners who recently received several proposals to reinvest the department store. “The manager plans to accommodate shops on the first two floors, rental offices in the third as well as a rooftop with a bar. But for the moment, nothing is sealed, ”says the downtown manager.