It’s a picturesque little alley, one of the few remaining in Paris, with its cobblestones, green arches and low-slung dwellings next to former artist studios. However, the calm of Rue des Thermopyles in the 14th arrondissement may not last much longer: Two former artists’ studios are set to be converted into large furnished tourist rentals and no one can legally object.
Backed by a major real estate developer, the project aims to renovate the two lots into five independent apartments, each accommodating between six and 12 guests, totaling 46 beds. These apartments will be tucked away in a private courtyard, behind two three-story buildings. “We’re afraid we’re going to become a location for bachelor parties,” said aptly-named Nicolas Laruelle, a concerned local who has joined forces with the Cœur d’îlot Thermopyles collective and still hopes to change the course of events.
The story began two years ago when the Terrot real estate group bought two rundown studios behind numbers 37 and 37a. At that point, the residents learned that these two plots, totaling 525 square meters, were not as protected as the rest of the neighborhood and that it was theoretically possible to construct tall buildings there.
Project approved
With the local urban planning plan currently being revised, the residents seized the opportunity to request the classification of these two areas in order to prevent any additional construction that would block light and obstruct their view. Lengthy discussions took place with the urban planning services and the 14th arrondissement town hall, which proposed a different type of classification at the council meeting on Tuesday, November 12. This new classification would limit the height to 7 meters, 2 meters more than the existing one, but be better from an environmental point of view. It would require, among other things, the greening of part of the plots and the removal of impermeable surfaces. However, this does not fully reassure the residents, who remain concerned about potential construction work.
A second, more concrete problem arose when residents discovered at the end of October, that there was a plan to renovate these studios into large, Airbnb-style tourist lofts. The project, submitted to the urban planning department in June, was tacitly approved two months after it was submitted, as is the rule for preliminary building declarations.
Since the two studios are classified not as “residential” but as “commercial and service activity” spaces, there is no change in the buildings’ designation. The new owner is fully within their rights to convert them into tourist rentals, regardless of residents’ concerns or the City of Paris’ consistent political stance against such properties.
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