At the beginning of the year there was an open house not like the others! That of the Lizé barracks which will soon become the Lizé district. More than 800 visitors were welcomed for this event, in the presence of the Mayor and President of Metz Métropole, Jean-Luc Bohl, and the Governor of the military Staff of Metz.
This day represents a whole symbol: it is the first opening to the public of a former military site which, by its nature, was a completely closed, hermetic place, and this since its creation at the end of the 19th century!
The Lizé Barracks is indeed a place full of history. Built by the Prussians, marked by the two world wars, Colonel de Gaulle was assigned there on the eve of his departure for London. Marked by the bullet strikes of the allies during the liberation, the barracks and its successive occupants carried this military legacy until it was decommissioned in 2014.
The site was launched when Eiffage Aménagement won this operation in January 2018 alongside Crédit Mutuel Aménagement Foncier and four developers: Eiffage Immobilier, Demathieu and Bard Immobilier, Habiter Promotion and Claude Rizzon. The agencies Wilmotte and Associés and Land'Act will be in charge of the project.
The conversion of this site has as its first objective to reconnect the upper and lower parts of the city of Montigny-lès-Metz around a new centrality, while preserving an architectural, historical and landscaping heritage of high quality.
This future Eco-district will eventually accommodate about 700 housing units on 58,000 m² of floor space. The wide variety of housing types will make it possible to accommodate all types of inhabitants: new housing, social rental housing, an intergenerational residence, housing for seniors, town houses and building lots. In addition to these units, services and local shops will be located around the market square, as well as a library.
But before the site’s redevelopment work began, it was essential to open this site to the inhabitants of Montigny-lès-Metz and of Metz Métropole in order to make them discover this historic site.
This open house allowed the population to enter the future Lizé district and enjoy the many activities planned for this occasion, including:
- A welcome by the brass band of the Armored Weapon Cavalry
- Exhibition of former military vehicles of the Second World War
- A site visit accompanied by speakers to discover the history of the place (former stables, cinema of the barracks, the prison as well as the office of Colonel de Gaulle)
- Reading by a storyteller to bring this experience to a younger audience
- An exhibition presenting the future development project led by Eiffage Aménagement
This day marked the spirits and thus allowed visitors to plan for this future development project.