On June 9, Pierre-Yves Muller, Managing Director of Linkcity Régions France, and Chantal Riutort, Regional Director of Linkcity Grand Ouest Normandie-Picardie, laid the foundation stone for the hybrid youth hostel and foodcourt "Massena 2. 2" in the presence of Edouard Philippe, Mayor of Le Havre and President of Le Havre Seine Métropole, Stéphane Roger, Managing Director of Normandie-Seine Foncière, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Normandie-Seine, Olivier Sichel, Director of Banque des Territoires and Alban Ruggiero, founder of Melt.

A project designed to discover and experience Le Havre differently

Emblematic sector of the city of Le Havre, the Danton district continues its mutation. The city, in co-construction with local residents, has undertaken a number of projects aimed at requalifying and opening up the old center to make it an attractive urban space for both residents and visitors. Among the projects undertaken, Linkcity Grand Ouest and its partners Normandie-Seine Foncière, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Normandie-Seine, Banque des Territoires, Melt and CBA have developed a new generation youth hostel, complementary spaces, and a gourmet hall including a co-working space.

At the heart of the district, the Massena 2.2 site, which was previously undeveloped, is ideally located in the immediate vicinity of Place Danton, the Simone Veil socio-cultural and sports center built by teams from Bouygues Bâtiment Grand Ouest, and the train station. Linkcity and its partners have designed an innovative project that renews the traditional youth hostel to offer comfort, aesthetics and a variety of services within a real living space intended for a wide range of clients. In addition to the accommodation functions, an original and affordable restaurant offer and community spaces open to residents and the outside public will make it a place for exchanges and new experiences, erasing the boundaries between private and public space to open up to the city.

The program, with a total surface area of 3,200 m² divided into 2 buildings of R+5 and R+6 on a common base, includes
- A youth hostel with 81 rooms, including 4 accessible to people with reduced mobility, offering 245 beds in its entirety, 50% of which are standard rooms and 50% in dormitories.
- A Foodcourt of approximately 300 m²: a gourmet hall consisting of 6 food stands, a common central bar, and a central tasting area of approximately 210 seats with a relaxation area, will offer a varied and affordable culinary offer, while providing a friendly atmosphere.

This diversity and the very attractive rates (overnight stay at less than 30 € per bed) allow to widen the traditional target of the youth hostels and to welcome more widely all types of customers, young and old, illustrating the will of the partners to favour social and intergenerational mix. In addition to the sleeping areas, the hostel has spaces dedicated to guests (kitchen, dining room, lounge and terrace on the first floor), as well as a 100 m2 rooftop space open to all, including a juice bar and a terrace overlooking the landscaped park.

The two buildings, designed to meet high standards of energy efficiency and performance, as well as quality and comfort (optimization of natural light, photovoltaic panels, acoustic performance above and beyond the norms, etc.), are aiming to obtain the Bâtiment Energie Environnement Tertiaire Neuf (New Commercial Building Energy and Environment Certificate) - Label E2C1. In addition, thanks to its privileged location in the city center, in direct proximity to the train station interchange, and given the usual modes of transportation of the target clientele, the project does not include any car parking in order to maximize the spaces dedicated to pedestrians and to be part of the dynamic that the Danton district is currently experiencing.

At the same time, the program operated by Melt aims to obtain the Green Key, the first international environmental label for tourist accommodation and restaurants.