Eleven Ile-de-France sites labeled Heritage of Regional Interest

The Île-de-France region is continuing its policy of supporting Ile-de-France heritage. The community validated on Friday, November 17, a selection of 11 sites, intended to receive its “Heritage of regional interest” label, bringing to 213 the number of labels awarded since July 2018. Castles, river beaches, wash houses, garden city, axes public… The label, created in 2017 by the president of the Region, Valérie Pécresse, recognizes the quality of the architecture and/or historical interest of sites not classified and not listed as Historic Monuments, and of which at least one of the main facades is visible from the public highway.

To obtain the “Heritage of Regional Interest” label, owners must complete an online form at mesdemarches.iledefrance.fr and meet at least one of the following five criteria: demonstrated heritage character or particular strength of testimony; architectural quality and relative homogeneity of the building; real character of exemplarity or representativeness; scarcity of heritage; quality of integration into the site and environmental quality of the building.

Although the call is open to private and public owners, the majority of requests are made by municipalities, benefiting from a less restrictive label than that of Bâtiments de France. The label is validated by conservative scientific experts, serving the Regional Inventory.

The name is not limited to its symbolic value. It also allows access to subsidies for restoration (up to 30% of the amount of projects with a maximum of €500,000 per tranche of work), as well as for operation, promotion and tourism development (at amount of 20% of the amount of eligible expenses with a maximum of €30,000). The objective of the Region is to contribute to the tourist attractiveness of the territory by highlighting these sometimes little-known buildings.

The Heritage Foundation can also provide assistance through crowdfunding: for every €1 collected by the Foundation during a sponsorship campaign, €1 is provided by the Region, with a ceiling per project set at €15,000. But to qualify, the property must be the responsibility of a municipality or an association and it cannot be combined with other aid from the region.

Of the eleven new labeled sites, two are located in Paris, two in Seine-et-Marne, one in Essonne, as well as in Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, and three others in Val-d’Oise. Atelier 11 in Cité Falguière (Paris) is one of these certified sites. Built in the 1860s-1870s by Jules-Ernest Bouillot, this artist’s studio welcomed renowned artists such as Chaïm Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Brancusi and Falguière. It is now used as an artists’ residence, but requires complete renovation.

In Essonne, it is the former Massy-Palaiseau station which has been labeled. Built in the 1930s, this monumental Art Deco style station is a striking example of the first “Regional Express Metro” project (ancestor of the RER) entrusted to the Compagnie du Métropolitain de Paris in 1929.

The Region has also certified the Dog Cemetery in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). Founded in 1899 by the writer Georges Harmois and the feminist journalist Marguerite Durand, this cemetery has a majestic Art Nouveau style portal, flanked by two doors for the pedestrian passage, which leads to a garden cemetery organized into four sections (dogs, cats , birds and other animals). The town hall plans a complete restoration of the site, including landscaping and renovation of the graves.

Applications for the label are open until February 29, 2024.