Background:

The Project consists of the development, financing, design, construction, long-term management and ownership of a new Higher Education campus in Marseille. Our partner La Plateforme, a school for digital and new technologies, will lease the campus and be responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance.
Marseille’s northern districts have a history of long-term unemployment and a high prevalence of socially vulnerable people with limited or no academic qualifications. Developing alternative training programmes to support access to employment opportunities and life-long skills development for these populations is a public policy priority.
Meridiam has partnered with La Plateforme for the development of a new Digital and Technology campus to offer digital training and upskilling targeted specifically at unqualified young adults. To support its continuous growth from more than 600 students in 2022 to c.3,000 by 2028, La Plateforme is developing a new campus (the Project) in the Northern Quartier des Crottes (15th district).
The land for the Project was secured through Euroméditerranée Phase 2 (Euromed 2), an urban redevelopment initiative by the French State and the local authorities (the City of Marseille, the Aix-Marseille Metropolis and the Region). The Project will regenerate a total of 18,000m² and include the new campus and local services including a cinema and a subsidised grocery store.

Stage:

Under construction

ESG Matters

The Project is well aligned with TURF’s resilience objectives:
• La Plateforme provides an educational offer for those who have found the conventional education system difficult and provides an alternative route to developing critical skills.
• The Project contributes to the urban renewal of Marseille by redeveloping an old, industrial, and deprived area with new services for the benefit of the local community including supporting vulnerable groups through the provision of a subsidised grocery store.
• The Project has ambitious environmental impact targets, both in terms of construction quality (BREEAM Very Good) and limiting its carbon footprint and its energy consumption by retrofitting half of the buildings, using biobased materials, or reusing others, using low carbon concrete, and connecting to the existing low carbon district heating network.
• The Project will also contribute to the soil decontamination works in the area.
• Additional initiatives (notably on low carbon transports) are being investigated.