Richelieu

Project description

Location

This distinguished listed office building is located in the second arrondissement of Paris – embedded between Opéra, one of the French capital’s central junctions, and the Paris Bourse, at the heart of one of the city’s pre-eminent central business districts. The neighborhood features a diverse blend of traditional businesses, medium-sized enterprises and hotels, supplemented by a vibrant cultural and culinary scene.

The property is situated in a courtyard off Rue de Richelieu, a well-known street in Paris named after Cardinal Richelieu, who served as Chief Minister to King Louis XIII and represented the dominant influence in 17th century French politics. The courtyard is accessed from Rue de Richelieu through a historic gated passageway that itself leads through a building with a historic façade. The immediate vicinity is predominantly comprised of four and five-story historic buildings, the upper floors of which now serve as offices and residential units, with the street level occupied by shops and restaurants.

There are excellent local public transport connections, with a number of metro stations nearby. In addition, Boulevard Haussmann – one of the most well-known shopping streets in Paris, featuring the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores – is within walking difference. In light of the outstanding microlocation, wide-ranging project developments have already been completed in nearby office buildings, with refurbishments achieving prime rents. This is set against the backdrop of the city’s low vacancy rate, recently measured at just 2.5%.

Also worthy of note is the Plan Local d’Urbanisme (PLUb), an urban development program recently adopted by the City of Paris, which aims to create additional housing – especially in the CBD, by transforming current office spaces into future residential units and social housing. Against this backdrop, the number of project developments and large-scale construction projects has decreased. However, the proportion of office space in the CBD is expected to fall in line with the pro-housing policy and to fulfill PLU requirements. Consequently, demand for office space of this scale and in high-quality buildings is rising significantly.

Property description

This prestigious office building from the mid-19th century served most recently as the headquarters of cosmetics firm L’Occitane for over 11 years. Its distinguished character is underscored above all by its historic façade, which has clearly been well preserved. The entire building underwent extensive refurbishment from 2001 to 2002. However, following the departure of the most recent tenant, it no longer lived up to the market’s requirements. The office spaces’ limited flexibility, the restrictions on building occupancy and the condition of the technical systems all presented significant issues for discerning potential tenants and hampered agreement of a tenancy at a level commensurate with the surroundings.

The project involves heavy refurbishment of the entire building to bring both its appearance and its technical systems fully up to date. The aim is to satisfy the requirements of both the market and the “Décret Tertiaire” – a piece of French ESG legislation – and position the building as an attractive, future-ready office space. The envisaged outcome is a Core product in a premium market segment, ideally securing a long-term arrangement with a single tenant.

Upon completion, the building will comprise 3,573 m² of rental space, reaching from the ground floor to the 7th floor, along with a newly created garden level (previously the upper basement level). The lower basement level will feature an underground garage with five car parking spaces, 15 moped spaces and a bicycle storage area. The building has listed construction features, including coving and cornices, which will be carefully preserved and integrated into the modern usage concept.

Architecture

The building’s refurbishment was planned by Architecturestudio, an internationally renowned French architecture, urban planning and interior design firm founded in 1973. With offices in Paris, Shanghai, Geneva and Abidjan, the firm is led by ten partners, supported by a cosmopolitan team of 150 staff. The firm’s designs for the Richelieu project are entirely harmonious with the surrounding area while still enabling the building to stand out.

The architects’ core philosophy is based around knowledge sharing and dialogue in order to unleash creative potential through a collective approach. As of 2024, Architecturestudio is a project-driven firm with a stated mission: “to collectively imagine the durability of inhabited environments through a renewed attention to the regions and a committed architecture.” This mission manifests itself in the architects’ candor and engagement, the collective design of environmentally compatible solutions, and the responsible handling and sharing of knowledge.

Thanks to its sensitive and sustainable approach, Architecturestudio has earned an excellent reputation for revitalizing historic buildings. The firm is supporting the Richelieu project in the detailed planning stage and through to completion, ensuring that the original design concepts are preserved throughout construction. This is reflected not only in the careful refurbishment and targeted accentuation of the listed property’s existing potential, but also in the detailed and architecturally impressive designs for the common areas and interior spaces.

Concept: Tradition meets and melds with modernity

The refurbishment concept is based on achieving a tactful coalescence of a historic structure and the requirements of state-of-the-art office spaces. It focuses on the following key measures:

Preserving and retaining historic elements: The designs factor in the mandatory regulations regarding listed buildings as an opportunity – with historic interior load-bearing walls, wooden beams and the distinctive façade not only preserved but specifically showcased. Refurbishment of the historic gated passageway will improve visibility thanks to a special light concept that draws attention to the axis running from the street through the veranda and courtyard and into the foyer with its historic ceiling fresco.

Light and openness: The livability of internal spaces will be improved by opening up walls, roof areas and ceilings so that more natural light can stream into the building. An open-space concept improves the office spaces’ flexibility by removing interior walls wherever possible (with due consideration for heritage conservation regulations), increasing ceiling heights and creating expansive layouts.

Garden level as a highlight: The garden level (formerly the upper basement level) designed to improve light conditions will be created by lowering the inner courtyard. Areas previously used as an archive will be repurposed as attractive meeting spaces, an office café and an auditorium with skylights – maximizing the usable floor area while ensuring high livability.

Usage concept

The target is to secure a single tenant for the entire building. The ground floor will feature reception areas, waiting rooms and larger meeting rooms that make a strong first impression. An auditorium with skylights, an office café and shower facilities are planned for the new garden level – spaces that promote communication and collaboration.

Thanks to the open-space concept, which takes due account of the interior walls subject to heritage protection, the office areas on the upper-ground floors (i.e. the 1st to 7th floors) facilitate various layouts. The office areas can be set up as modern, New Work-style spaces featuring both open and closed areas or in a cellular layout. Around 25% of the usable floor area is being converted into meeting rooms and social spaces. Consequently, the facilities will be suitable for a variety of sectors and usage concepts.

The underground garage features parking spaces for five cars and 15 mopeds, accessible via a car elevator, while the bicycle store is accessible from the courtyard via a separate entrance and via a new bicycle elevator. Additional sanitary facilities and optimized emergency escape routes will increase the number of employees permitted in the building to 400 – a significant flexibility boost for potential tenants.

Technical systems and sustainability

The refurbishment is setting new standards in terms of sustainability and technical building systems. The building will meet the following environmental and technical standards: BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore Silver, as well as the ambitious requirements of the Décret Tertiaire with its DEET 2050 target – which envisages a 60% reduction in energy consumption compared to current levels.

Building structure and safety: The refurbishment includes: targeted reinforcement of existing historic wooden floors (on the 1st to 3rd floors, as necessary) with composite ceilings; fire safety systems with the highest Category A rating; refurbishment of the roof area and augmentation of the skylight in the 7th floor ceiling; and measures to improve accessibility.

Modern technical building systems: Installation of new technical systems throughout the building represent a core part of the refurbishment. As for heating and cooling generation, the project also includes refurbishment of the transformer stations for district heating and district cooling. A hydraulic four-pipe distribution system (conveying hot and cold water for heating and cooling) will supply the building efficiently.

The clear room height in the offices will be maximized by improving the technical building systems and HVAC with the aim of reducing the ceiling paneling. Heating and cooling supplies will be provided by heated/cooled canopy ceilings in the 1st to 6th floors, ceiling-mounted fan convectors on the garden level and ground floor, and fan convectors installed in the balustrades of the offices on the 7th floor.

Dual-flow ventilation and air-conditioning systems with energy recovery units will be installed, with two systems positioned on the basement level serving both basement and ground-floor offices. A car elevator, three new passenger elevators and a new bicycle elevator down to the storage area on the lower basement level complete the planned vertical connections.

Intelligent building management technology: A modern building automation and control system with a full IP digital management system will facilitate regulation, consumption monitoring, management and fault detection. Multisensors in offices will automatically control the lighting (detection and dimming), blinds and temperature settings. The technical package is completed by LED lighting, dual charging stations for electric vehicles (pre-equipped for all parking spaces) and VDI cabling (pre-equipped with two RJ45 interfaces per workstation) along with access control systems, video telephony and video surveillance. The digital infrastructure also includes measures to improve mobile network reception.

Target group and market positioning

This distinguished listed office building, situated in the CBD of the second arrondissement of Paris, features a historic and architecturally impressive façade – and, when the refurbishment is complete, a thoroughly modern building – and is geared to users seeking an office space of high quality and distinction. Given its location and appointments, the building is suited to established, commercially stable users with a long-term outlook. Excellent public transport connections mean the property would also be of interest to users expecting regular customer visits.

The aim is to find a single tenant to take on the entire building. In light of the high quality standards set for the project, the intention is to conclude a long-term tenancy agreement of at least six and ideally nine years – which is standard practice in France. Consequently, we envisage letting to a tenant in the Core segment, perhaps a medium-sized to large enterprise, a law office or a public authority. The building would be particularly well suited to businesses in the consultancy, law, financial services and premium services segments seeking a central Parisian location with historic flair and state-of-the-art technology.

The combination of a prestigious address on Rue de Richelieu, listed architecture, outstanding sustainability standards (BREEAM Excellent, Décret Tertiaire 2050) and an exceptional location between Opéra and the Bourse position the building as a premium property on the Parisian office market. The building is set to be let out from Q4 2026.

Project status

The building has been entirely gutted for complete refurbishment, including proper removal of inherited waste such as lead and asbestos, with this work completed in Q4 2024. Regulatory authorities and heritage protection bodies have been duly consulted, with the refurbishment measures formally approved (in a Déclaration Préalable) in January 2025. An agreement with a general contractor was signed in Q2 2025, with construction work now underway. Completion is scheduled for Q4 2026.

The project will significantly extend the lifespan of this historic building and has already satisfied the ESG criteria of the Décret Tertiaire for 2050 – positioning it as a pioneering investment in one of Europe’s most attractive office markets.