Villebon 2

Villebon 2 is a French commercial centre located in the commune of Villebon-sur-Yvette in the Essonne department, in the southern suburbs of Paris. It takes the form of a retail park and shopping centre positioned at the junction of the A10 and A6 motorways and close to the N118 and N20 national roads. In practice, the name "Villebon 2" is used both for the shopping centre itself and for the adjacent complex made up of an Auchan hypermarket and its commercial gallery, which was renamed Aushopping Villebon 2 in 2016. The site's origins lie in a ZAC (concerted development zone) created in the mid-1980s at the lieux-dits La Prairie and Le Regard, as the population of Villebon-sur-Yvette and neighbouring towns grew. The Alsacienne de Supermarchés (SASM), acquired in 1993 by Docks de France, answered the call of local authorities and opened a Mammouth hypermarket on 28 August 1988, with a small gallery of around thirty small retailers. Two years later, the Montcient company built a small commercial complex nearby. The area remained largely unchanged until 1998. Following the takeover of Docks de France and the rebranding of the hypermarket under the Auchan banner in 1997, property developers renewed their interest in the zone. From 1998 to 2002 the area experienced rapid, uncoordinated urbanisation, with numerous warehouses built without architectural coherence, mostly occupied by discount retailers. Once land reserves were exhausted, expansion paused, though all stores obtained permission to open on Sundays. In 2005 the retail park portion was acquired by the British company Hammerson for €150 million, relaunching development. The aim was to remedy past mistakes, particularly the split between two blocks on either side of Avenue de la Plesse. Given the relatively affluent local population, the centre sought to move upmarket and attract the most sought-after national brands. Hammerson studied demolishing certain areas to harmonise the architecture. For the first time, planning was carried out in consultation with Ceetrus (owner of the shopping gallery) and Auchan, with the three partners considering a regional positioning for the centre. Work began in 2006: Auchan increased its sales area from 8,300 to 10,300 m², while Hammerson extended its buildings up to the doors of the shopping gallery. In 2007, the arrival of Fnac and C&A inaugurated the centre's new dimension. In 2015, Ceetrus created a multi-level car park at the end of the former Auchan car parks. The renovation and extension of the shopping gallery by Atelier de midi (+5,800 m² on the front part of the former car parks) opened in November 2016. In 2016, Hammerson sold its stake to Frey, Crédit Agricole Assurances and ACM Vie SA, a subsidiary of Groupe des Assurances du Crédit Mutuel, for €159 million. Frey manages the site on behalf of the three owners. The centre has appeared in French media and film: it features in Yann Moix's 2004 film Podium, when Benoît Poelvoorde decides to perform in the car park rather than the too-small restaurant, and scenes from Samuel Benchetrit's 2008 film J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster were shot in the car park and a fast-food outlet. It was on the cover of Télérama no. 3135 (10 February 2010) under the headline "Halte à la France moche !". Environmentally, its construction led to the loss of farmland and the enclosure of the Villebon-sur-Yvette racecourse, and its all-night lighting causes significant light pollution; locals have nicknamed it the "Las Vegas villebonnais".

Villebon 2's history begins in the mid-1980s, when a ZAC (zone d'aménagement concerté) was created at the lieux-dits La Prairie and Le Regard in Villebon-sur-Yvette, Essonne, in response to population growth in the commune and surrounding towns. The plan was to build a hypermarket. The Alsacienne de Supermarchés (SASM), which was acquired by Docks de France in 1993, answered the call of local authorities and opened a Mammouth hypermarket on 28 August 1988, with a small gallery of about thirty small retailers. Two years later, the Montcient company built a small commercial complex nearby. The area remained largely unchanged until 1998. After Docks de France was taken over and the hypermarket was rebranded under the Auchan banner in 1997, property developers renewed their interest in the zone. From 1998 to 2002 the area underwent rapid, uncoordinated urbanisation: numerous warehouses were built without architectural coherence, mostly occupied by discount retailers. Once land reserves were exhausted, the expansion of commercial surfaces paused, though all stores obtained permission to open on Sundays. In 2005, the entire retail park portion was acquired by the British company Hammerson for €150 million, relaunching the zone's development. The goal was to remedy past mistakes, particularly the opposition between two blocks located on either side of Avenue de la Plesse. Since the local population was relatively affluent, the centre needed to move upmarket and attract the most sought-after national brands. Hammerson studied demolishing certain areas to harmonise the general architecture of the buildings. For the first time, planning for future developments was carried out in consultation with Ceetrus (owner of the shopping gallery) and Auchan. The three partners considered a regional positioning for the shopping centre. They envisaged acquiring the few industrial plots adjoining the shops in order to extend parking areas. Ultimately, small units, medium-sized units and large stores would coexist. The first works began in 2006: Auchan increased its sales area from 8,300 to 10,300 m², while Hammerson extended its buildings up to the doors of the shopping gallery. In 2007, the arrival of Fnac and C&A inaugurated the centre's new dimension. In 2015, Ceetrus created a multi-level car park at the end of the former Auchan car parks. The renovation and extension of the shopping gallery by Atelier de midi (+5,800 m² on the front part of the former car parks) opened in November 2016. In 2016, Hammerson sold its stake to Frey, Crédit Agricole Assurances and ACM Vie SA, a subsidiary of Groupe des Assurances du Crédit Mutuel, for €159 million. Frey manages the site on behalf of the three owners. The centre has appeared in French media and film. It features in Yann Moix's 2004 film Podium, when Benoît Poelvoorde decides to perform in the car park rather than in the too-small restaurant. Scenes from Samuel Benchetrit's 2008 film J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster were also shot in the car park and in a fast-food outlet. The centre was on the cover of Télérama no. 3135 of 10 February 2010 under the headline "Halte à la France moche !". Environmentally, the construction of Villebon 2 led to the disappearance of many cultivated lands and the enclosure of the Villebon-sur-Yvette racecourse. In addition, all-night lighting causes significant light pollution; locals have nicknamed it the "Las Vegas villebonnais".

• 2016

  Hammerson sells its stake to Frey, Crédit Agricole Assurances and ACM Vie SA for €159 million; the gallery is renamed Aushopping Villebon 2; renovation and extension (+5,800 m²) opens in November.

• 2015

  Ceetrus creates a multi-level car park at the end of the former Auchan car parks.

• 2007

  Fnac and C&A open, inaugurating the centre's new dimension.

• 2006

  First works begin: Auchan expands its sales area from 8,300 to 10,300 m²; Hammerson extends its buildings.

• 2005

  Hammerson acquires the entire retail park portion for €150 million.

• 1998

  Start of rapid, uncoordinated urbanisation of the zone, lasting until 2002.

• 1997

  The hypermarket is rebranded under the Auchan banner following the takeover of Docks de France.

• 1993

  Alsacienne de Supermarchés (SASM) is acquired by Docks de France.

• 1990

  The Montcient company builds a small commercial complex near the hypermarket.

• 1988

  Opening of a Mammouth hypermarket on 28 August 1988, with a small gallery of about thirty small retailers.

Regional shopping and retail park serving the affluent southern Paris suburbs, anchored by an Auchan hypermarket and an Aushopping gallery.

• Shopping centre and retail park

• Auchan hypermarket

• Aushopping Villebon 2 commercial gallery

• Multi-level car park

1. 1Villebon 2fr.wikipedia.org
2. 2Villebon 2wikidata.org