Future of Paris's Montparnasse Tower uncertain after planned revamp collapses

The plan to transform the 1970s tower into a lighter, greener skyscraper has collapsed after its co-owners overwhelmingly rejected the first stage of the renovation.

More than 76 percent of stakeholders voted on Wednesday against signing contracts to remove asbestos, strip out the interior and partly dismantle the facade.

The decision effectively kills the redevelopment project because its planning permission expires at the end of November.

The building has already been emptied in preparation for the work, but disputes over rising costs, financing and the redistribution of floor space sent its owners back to the drawing board.

The LFPI investment group – the tower's largest co-owner – withdrew its support over the summer after previously backing the scheme. It was joined by other major shareholders including health insurers MGEN, Axa insurance company and real-estate investment fund Icade.

The projected cost had risen from just over €300 million when the new design was unveiled in 2017 to around €800 million.

A tower Paris never loved

The dispute is the latest chapter in the history of a building that divided opinion even before it was built.

Plans to redevelop the area around the old Montparnasse railway station emerged in the late 1950s, as Paris sought new office space and modern infrastructure.

Construction began in 1969 and the 210-metre tower opened in 1973, its 59 storeys and monolithic design standing out starkly in a skyline still largely defined by Haussmannian buildings, church domes and the Eiffel Tower.

Opposition had been building for years. In 1963, Le Figaro newspaper argued that “revolutionary urban planning has nothing to gain here”, suggesting that architectural experiments belonged outside Paris.

Even President Georges Pompidou, a strong supporter of modernising the capital, had reservations. Speaking to Le Monde in 1972, he defended the principle of high-rise buildings but admitted he found the Montparnasse Tower's façade “sad”.

The tower later became emblematic of a wider backlash against high-rise development in central Paris. In 1977, planning rules largely restricted new buildings to a maximum of 37 metres, helping keep skyscrapers out of the historic centre for decades.

Its problems were not only aesthetic. Extensive asbestos was also discovered in the building, leading to a long and complex removal programme. Built between 1969 and 1972, the Montparnasse Tower in Paris stands at a height of 210 metres.

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A greener vision

First announced in 2015, the redevelopment was intended to do more than refurbish an ageing office block.

In 2017, Nouvelle AOM, a partnership of three Paris architecture firms, won an international competition to radically modify the tower's appearance.

Their proposal retained the existing structure but replaced the dark façade with lighter glass, while adding planted terraces and opening the lower levels more directly to the surrounding neighbourhood.

A hotel was planned for the upper floors, with an agricultural greenhouse on the roof.

The architects said they wanted to create a tower that was “clear, open to the outside and rooted in the life of the neighbourhood”.

Environmental performance was also central to the project, with natural ventilation, low-carbon materials and extensive planting intended to reduce energy use. Nouvelle AOM's concept for the redesign of the Montparnasse Tower, showing planted terraces and new glass-fronted spaces overlooking Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

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Back to the drawing board

That vision is now off the table in its current form.

A newly formed owners' committee is expected to look at a less ambitious renovation and eventually submit a fresh planning application. Stakeholders MGEN have called for “a faster project that we are capable of carrying out”.

There are also plans for another vote on clearance and asbestos-removal work.

The redevelopment was linked to a wider overhaul of the Montparnasse complex, including plans for the ageing shopping centre at its base.

Some owners are already pushing to salvage part of the project. The former president of the residents' association, Frédéric Lemos, businessman Xavier Niel and two other co-owners said after Wednesday's vote that they were not prepared to “bury the Montparnasse Tower”.

Philippe Goujon, mayor of Paris's 15th arrondissement, has also called for a compromise, warning against abandoning a project that has been in development for over 10 years.

(with newswires)