Rive Gauche

Rive Gauche is a shopping centre located on Place Verte in the Ville Basse (lower town) district of Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium. It opened in March 2017 as the centrepiece of a broader urban regeneration effort aimed at revitalising Charleroi's city centre. The project was developed and is managed by Saint-Lambert Promotion, with the Brussels architecture firm DDS&Partners leading construction of the commercial complex. The total project value was estimated at approximately 200 million euros. The mall occupies a redeveloped swath of the lower town, including the Triangle area, Place Albert Ier, Rue Léopold and Place Émile Buisset. Beyond retail space, the scheme includes a hotel built on the roof of the shopping centre and an underground car park with 1,000 spaces beneath Place Verte, which was itself redesigned as part of the project. The colonnades' commercial surface was removed to create a large pedestrian area at Place Albert Ier, directly connected to Boulevard Joseph Tirou. Planning for Rive Gauche dates back to 2004, when several competing shopping-centre proposals were presented for Charleroi. The Rive Gauche project, promoted in the Engelstein-Robocle lower-town area, was selected by the Charleroi communal council in 2008. It faced legal challenges from residents opposed to expropriations and demolitions, as well as a legal action by rival developer Foruminvest/City Mall, which was rejected by the court of summary jurisdiction. Demolition began in September 2013, construction started in 2015, and the mall opened on 9 March 2017, drawing 60,000 visitors on its first day. Today Rive Gauche functions as a regional shopping destination in Charleroi, combining retail units, dining and leisure with the adjoining hotel and parking infrastructure. Its official website is charleroirivegauche.be.

The Rive Gauche project emerged from a period of competing shopping-centre proposals in Charleroi in the mid-2000s. In 2004, the company Foruminvest unveiled a project on the site of the Charleroi Exhibition Palace. Other proposals included "Les Remparts", between Rue de Dampremy, Rue de la Montagne and Boulevard de l'Yser; "Equilis", the real-estate arm of the Mestdagh group, at the postal sorting office next to Charleroi-Central station; and the "Rive gauche" project in the Engelstein-Robocle lower town, whose promoter had already bought numerous buildings in the district. Additional projects included one on the former Delbrassine site, between Chaussée de Bruxelles and the Exhibition Palace, and one around Place de la Digue. Ultimately only the Equilis and Rive Gauche projects reached the final stage, and the latter was approved by the Charleroi communal council in 2008. Foruminvest/City Mall, promoter of the project on the Exhibition Palace site, brought an action against the city of Charleroi, claiming to have been harmed by the Rive Gauche project; its request was rejected by the court of summary jurisdiction. The project was repeatedly challenged by local residents, who initiated legal actions to prevent the expropriation and demolition of certain buildings. At the end of 2014, the promoters and the city of Charleroi finally prevailed, allowing the expropriation of the last occupants who had refused to sell their property. Construction work began in 2013 and was completed in early 2017. The demolition of the Buisset block at Place Émile Buisset began on 25 September 2013. On 10 February 2015, demolition of the colonnades at Place Albert Ier began. The demolition phase ended in April 2015, at which point the construction phase began, with nearly 240 trucks accessing the site each day. The foundation stone ceremony took place on 19 May 2015, in the presence of Charles Michel, Olivier Chastel and Paul Magnette. The shopping centre opened and was inaugurated on the morning of 9 March 2017, with 60,000 visitors present on that first day. The project was managed by Saint-Lambert Promotion, with an estimated value of around 200 million euros, and the Brussels architecture firm DDS&Partners directed construction of the commercial complex.

• 2017

  The shopping centre opens and is inaugurated on the morning of 9 March, with 60,000 visitors on the first day.

• 2015

  Demolition of the colonnades at Place Albert Ier begins on 10 February; demolition phase ends in April; foundation stone laid on 19 May in the presence of Charles Michel, Olivier Chastel and Paul Magnette.

• 2014

  Promoters and the city of Charleroi win their legal battle, allowing expropriation of the last refusing occupants.

• 2013

  Construction work begins; demolition of the Buisset block starts on 25 September 2013.

• 2008

  The Rive Gauche project is approved by the Charleroi communal council.

• 2004

  Foruminvest unveils a shopping-centre project on the Charleroi Exhibition Palace site; other competing projects, including Rive Gauche, are presented.

Regional shopping and leisure destination anchoring the revitalisation of Charleroi's lower town.

• Rive Gauche shopping centre

  Retail complex on Place Verte in Charleroi's lower town.

• Rooftop hotel

  Hotel built on the roof of the shopping centre.

• Underground car park

  1,000-space car park beneath Place Verte.

1. 1Rive Gauche official websitecharleroirivegauche.be
2. 2Rive Gauche – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Rive gauche (Charleroi) – Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org