There is no pre-defined design in commercial town planning: every site has its own history, and every installation is unique. To create a new centre, transfer or renovate an old one, restructure town centre facilities, or integrate the new dimension of urban leisure, are all delicate operations which require all the expertise and imagination of the Group's teams.

Faced with a substantial movement of shops and customers towards their outskirts, the majority of French towns now wish to add to the attractiveness of their centre. The ALTAREA Group has made a speciality of solving these problems of town centre restructuring. In various projects carried out in close collaboration with local authorities, the Group has achieved the renewal of the urban fabric. Thus, in a few years, ALTAREA has become a recognised specialist in cooperation between public and private sectors.
 
A sustainable town is one where urban life carries on alongside a variety of other uses and functions, where people from all social backgrounds and ages meet, and where various cultures intermingle. The alchemy is different every time, involving a mixture of architecture, quality of service, provision of leisure facilities and shops, but creates the conditions for social living. The objective is to create a place frequented by a great diversity of people, a place to spend leisure time or just pass through, a place where locals, employees, students and families, with various levels of income, will find many reasons to come and relax.
 
The ownership and development of property assets can engender environmental risks (particularly as a result of regulatory developments in this area). The ALTAREA Group is committed to anticipating this risk as far in advance as possible, particularly through its HEQ approach (High Environmental Quality). ALTAREA defines the requirements of its HEQ approach at the various phases of the design, construction and management of its projects :

- Eco-construction involving, in particular, building sites creating low levels of nuisance, consideration of the location and of the natural environment, the preservation of water resources, decontamination, the minimisation of demolition and the use of ecologically sound materials. These matters are the subject of major public consultation along with the whole project;

- Eco-management: where energy management is concerned, a monthly monitoring over the last two years of the consumption of energy and other resources (water, gas, electricity) has already made it possible to make substantial savings ;

- Consideration for users comfort : materials and equipment are chosen in order to provide occupiers and visitors of the future centre with optimal hygrothermic, acoustic, visual and olfactory comfort ;

- Consideration for safety : the design of buildings ensures the best sanitary conditions (treatment of the air and water conduits). In this respect, ALTAREA exceeds its legal obligations, and has embarked on a plan to prevent the spread of Legionnaire's disease by replacing air refrigeration towers with closed circuit machines free of risk. Regarding detection of the presence of asbestos, diagnosis has been carried out in all sites and the recommended steps taken without generating substantial cost. In the case of centres acquired during the financial year, a systematic procedure to detect asbestos has been set up. Most centres owned by ALTAREA have, been constructed recently with particular attention to monitoring the absence of asbestos in the materials used during construction.
 
A durable site is one which is appropriate to its environment and the construction, facilities and layout of which are designed in a flexible way so as to adapt to changes of use. These objectives form an integral part of ALTAREA's management methods, emphasising consultation with neighbouring landlords and associations and favouring public/private partnership.
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