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Key figures

Origin and history

Beaugrenelle is a modern urban project located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, on the Front-de-Seine. Built in the 1970s, it is distinguished by its numerous high-rise buildings (such as the Tower of Mars or Espace 2000) and its inaugural shopping centre opened in 1979. Its name, however, dates back to the early 19th century, inherited from the Beau-Grenelle subdivision (1824), designed to attract a bourgeois population in the former Grenelle plain, then a popular area. This subdivision, carried by the municipal councillors Léonard Violet and Alphonse Letellier, marked the urban transformation of the area before its connection to Paris in 1860 under Haussmann.

The first Beaugrenelle shopping centre, launched in 1979 with 80 shops, quickly suffered from a lack of attendance, leading to its degradation and closure in the 2000s. A major renovation (2007–2013) transformed the site, with the partial destruction of existing buildings and the creation of a new commercial space around an oval atrium and a plant roof. The new Beaugrenelle, opened in 2013, aims to revitalize the neighbourhood with an estimated capacity of 10–13 million visitors annually. The project included the modernization of cultural facilities, such as the Aquareau islet film complex and the Andrée-Chedid library.

The neighbourhood also includes elements of urban biodiversity, such as the Béla-Bartók square, maintained according to ecological methods, or the Front-de-Seine chimney, which became a nesting site for peregrine falcons in 2013. The sports facilities (Keller and René-et-André-Mourlon swimming pools) and the Charles Michels metro station (line 10) complete its layout. The name Beaugrenelle thus perpetuates the heritage of the 19th century estate, while embodying architectural and commercial modernity.

The origin of the name Beaugrenelle dates back to the Violet subdivision, inaugurated in 1824 after the purchase of the Grenelle plain by Léonard Violet and Alphonse Letellier. Designed for a bourgeois clientele, this project contributed to the autonomy of the commune of Grenelle in 1830, before its integration in Paris in 1860 during the Haussmann expansion. This past contrasts with the present face of the neighbourhood, symbolized by its towers (like the one of the WAYSSI, installed in 2013) and its mix of residential, commercial and cultural functions.

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