It is an unrecognizable Toulon which will emerge from the ground. Or rather the sea since the major project for these future years aims to develop, by 2026, a good part of the coast of the Var city. Everything has been signed. The seafront, until now reserved for nautical and military activities, will return to the center of the game. “It is a major project which begins and which tells the story of the reconquest of Toulon towards the sea. We want to rediscover the memory of this place and offer access to the sea in the heart of the city, ”announces Corinne Vezzoni, the Marseille architect chosen for this pharaonic operation estimated at 150 million euros.
From the Mayol stadium – a temple of rugby near the port – to Pipady, one of the most popular beaches in Toulon, a perimeter of 40,000 square meters will be re-exploited thanks to an unprecedented urban and landscape redevelopment. Let’s imagine: a two-hectare park open to the sea and a stone’s throw from the old center, a marine hall created, a luxury hotel, shared work spaces and a convention center built… Not to mention a long promenade along quays with places of relaxation and open-air shops.
“Finally, we are going to break down the walls that separate us from the water”
“After its city center, made pedestrian, and the market halls, it is a somewhat sleepy city which suddenly woke up. Everywhere, islets of freshness will recall the marine character of the city. Fresh water, salt water, rainwater, aquatic plants and thalassothermy will be omnipresent ”, underlines the architect. This is because we must not miss the great turn that this city of 180,000 inhabitants is taking, which is now gaining in attractiveness, but whose military footprint remains strong.
At the other end of the harbor, the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier is the pride of the people of Toulon, but the illustrious past of the Navy has faded over time. The mayor of the city, Hubert Falco (ex-LR), therefore wants to keep his eyes riveted on the Mediterranean but to change the outlook of his citizens on it. “This project is the Toulon of tomorrow. Ecologically exemplary, proud of its history and anchored in its time, ”he says. He therefore seized the opportunity of land ceded by the shipbuilding giant Naval Group, firmly established on the docks, to imagine a new aspect of the seaside.
Thus, military sites, long sheltered behind immense impassable walls, will be returned to “civilians”. “We knew that the sea was very close but these gigantic walls still prevented us from seeing it”, comments Daniel, a resident of the city center. “Finally, we’re going to break down the walls that separate us from the water!” “Only a large hangar, where torpedoes were stored, will be kept” for the sake of history. ” Elsewhere, a new Toulon will grow. With the stated ambition to stand out between its two big sisters: Marseille and Nice.