Tall & Urban News

The National Housing Agency (Anah) will release €44.5 million (US$53.3 million) to be used for emergency work on the Grigny 2 condominium (Essonne), which is home to 17,000 inhabitants, or more than half of the municipal population.

The payment of additional aid of €7 million (US$8.3 million) was ratified on Wednesday March 10, 2021 by a vote of the Board of Directors of Anah, which makes official the commitment made by Prime Minister Jean Castex during the Interministerial Committee of Cities, on January 29, 2021.

In 2018, Anah had already committed to finance the tax-free amount of the emergency work.

However, the difficulties of the co-owners in mobilizing the necessary resources to finance the remainder (€1,500 (US$1,797) per accommodation) did not allow, despite the contributions of the city of Grigny and the Greater Paris Sud agglomeration, to complete the financing and to implement this work.

The €7 million extension should allow work to begin quickly. From April, 2021, work will begin for three condominiums, gradually extending to all 27 condominiums by October 2022.

The work will mainly focus on the common areas, including fire safety, electricity, and elevators, but will also include work on roof terraces and balconies.

"This decision by Anah is an accelerator, a strong act in the fight we are waging against poverty and precariousness," says the mayor of Grigny Philippe Rio. We will continue to work with humility and determination, because there is still a lot of work to be done."

At the same time, the municipality, in conjunction with state services, is continuing its efforts against substandard housing and is working to implement video protection in the neighborhood in the coming months. 

Built at the end of the 1960s, Grigny 2 is the second largest condominium in Europe and has 104 buildings comprising 5,000 housing units.

For many years, the co-ownership has experienced significant difficulties due to the financial position of its occupants: 45 percent of the inhabitants of Grigny 2 live below the poverty line and their average taxable income is €9,000 (US$10,783).

For more on this store, Actu Essonne.