The Conseil général next store owner in Angers down town

The Conseil général de Maine-et-Loire wants to get a facelift. The old surrounding wall along Foch boulevard should leave room, within two years, to a new building which will host the departmental authority. After a tender which interested more than 180 architects, five candidates have been selected to compete and to submit a detailed project. Those will be displayed until May 26th in the Saint-Martin collegiate church but under anonymity and an attention of equality. The models of the schemes have all the same size. At the end of June, a jury will select one of them.

Credit Picture : Conseil général de Maine-et-Loire

According to the Conseil général president, Christophe Béchu, "this is the appropriate location for a true architectural project". Located at the corner of Saint-Aubin street, one of the most visited way of Angers and the Foch boulevard, now enlived with the tramway, the place can really be a front side for the deparmental assembly. The schemes consist all in a high and large building where the authority want to gather several services currently scattered over the city. At street level, the passers-by will find stores and gain access to the gardens.

According to Mr Béchu, the project is balanced because financed by the sale of several properties the Conseil général owns in the surroundings for its different services. Its overall cost should total between € 15 and 20 millions, what is a quite important difference. It is not sure that Angers and Anjou inhabitants will taht time appraise the quality of the scheme to the control of its cost. But it could by more likely that the challengers of Mr Bechu in the next municipal polls will pay attention to the bill. And Mr Béchu, as a new store owner, could be helpful to the retailers of Angers down town.