Christian Pellerin’s best achievements in France and Brazil

Christian Pellerin: “Marseille has a great chance!”

Christian Pellerin is a remarkable man who imagined and developed the la Défense district in Paris, but he also created other projects that are worth mentioning.

What is his opinion about Marseille and the works that he conducted there?

“Euroméditerranée is an urban structure based on a system of economic development which attracts compliments. It’s about creating an urban life and at the same time, pushing Marseille forward. The Éco-Vallée is a Silicon Valley, a welcome and research operation which aims to bring successful companies. The goal is the same: to facilitate the economic development. Marseille has an extraordinary chance and Nice has also great potential.”, says Christian.

When asked if before acquiring, he anticipated that the Docks of Joliette would be one of the neighborhoods that would mark the revival of Marseille, Christian notes that he knew that the Docks would pave the way to the city’s rebirth, as they are the heart of Marseille. He would like to return to Marseille in twenty years from now, in order to see the developments and the progress made.

Pellerin’s viewpoint on the profession of property developer

Regarding the property developer profession, Christian says that it has become a job for financial officers who want to cast concrete. Projects are no longer qualitative. It’s not at all the same profession, it has changed radically.

He is somehow skeptical about the future of the construction sector in France. He points at the fallow lands of Batignolles, which have been in this state for the last fifteen-twenty years, the construction site in Samaritaine, where nothing happened in the last fifteen years and which is nevertheless an important place in Paris. He adds that the administrative, political and legal systems are not adapted.

Christian Pellerin still returns to Gien, where he bought two lands in 1976. When he comes to Paris, he always goes to Gien for a couple of days.

Best achievements

When asked how he assesses his 69 years of life, Christian says: “Life is not a long calm river. When sailing, we encounter storms, interesting people, helping hands and also cheaters. The hardships that don’t bring you down, make you stronger and make you see a bright future….in Brazil!”

Crowned King of La Défense by François Mitterrand, the name of Christian Pellerin remains irrevocably associated with the business hub of Hauts-de-Seine, that he revived in 1978. Since 1973, the economic crisis had halted the development of this district, where not even a square meter was sold during four years. Mr. Pellerin sees an opportunity in this challenge and transforms the place in the first business district in Europe, not without the crucial impetus of Raymond Barre, the prime minister at that time, who decides that the project should be finished, despite everyone’s opinion. He also gains the confidence of IBM, Saint-Gobain and Rhône-Poulenc, who relocate to la Défense.

When asked if la Défense is his best achievement, Christian Pellerin declares that it is his most newsworthy. “I also built 50,000 accommodations, I boosted Marseille’s revival through the restoration of its docks and I revived Roubaix city, creating new jobs…I had a lot of exciting projects, from an economic perspective. But my most beautiful achievement is la Défense, whose construction was of national interest: the cooperation between the country’s services, the political and private sectors have all allowed to build 2 million square meters of offices in twenty years.” He describes la Défense as an extraordinary experience.

Brazil, his second home

It’s on the north-east coast of Brazil that Christian Pellerin chose to exercise his talent of developer in the hotel industry. His new business, hotel Lara, is an ethnic and classy boutique hotel, situated in Prainha, a fishermen village not far from Fortaleza in the Ceará state. Fortaleza reminds him of Nice.

He built a charming hotel in the north of Brazil. He spends about half of the year in Brazil. “Brazilians have an entrepreneurial spirit, they build very beautiful towers. I built a charming hotel in the north of the country, it’s the next Côte d’Azur, it’s always sunny there, they have plenty of high quality beaches and a fishermen village. They have started to build denser dwellings, I’m personally doing the complete opposite, because with a 25 rooms hotel, I want to attract top tier customers.”

Christian’s companion and art-gallery owner, Agnès Monplaisir, is the designer of the decoration of the hotel and she is in charge of the artistic direction of the art gallery located in the hotel’s boutique. She is also designer of a fashion collection (tunics, pareos and bags) made by the rendeiras (weavers) of Prainha. The boutique sells other accessories manufactured in Céara.

The Lara hotel is host to works of contemporary Brazilian artists, among which we can mention: Nadia Taquary, Marcos Coelho Benjamim, Iuri Sarmento, as wells as works of the French artist Daniel Hourdé.

The 25 rooms and 4 suites have terraces and a breathtaking sea view. The gourmet restaurant’s chef, “King Bomba”, Alisson Brilhante, has studied in Sao Paolo and Paris. He cooks using organic ingredients taken from the hotel’s garden and products from the local fishery. In addition, the hotel has a spa and fitness center. The tropical garden has a pool hidden in nature and offers direct access to the beach.

It is without doubt a good start to discover the Brazilian North East, which is still less touristic and has a wild coast. The climate is softer than in other parts of Brazil, with trade winds blowing and reducing the tropical heat.

Excerpt from his book — “La Défense attacks. The path of a builder”

Christian Pellerin explains the reason behind writing his book. He declares: “When we are the ship’s captain and in the middle of a storm, we don’t raise the whole boat sail, but we wait to arrive in the harbor. Concerning the subjects that affected me, it was difficult to defend myself in the waves of the media storm. After more than ten years, the situation has calmed down and I considered it appropriate to write this book.”

His book, launched in 2014, is read like a novel and invites us to discover the man behind the real-estate developer. You can find below a small excerpt of the book.

“The late 1990s have marked the peak of my career as a property developer and planner. When I was 45, I became this King of la Défense. I have built there almost half of the offices and renovated the CNIT (Center for new industries and technologies), without mentioning the numerous construction sites in other parts of France. I had joined the very closed club of wealthy people. I had amazing residences, a private hotel in Paris, a hunting place in Sologne, a mountain chalet, I had gathered a collection of vintage furniture and classic and contemporary masterpieces. My children were beautiful, I was in sound health my profession brought me all the joys that a person can dream of. What could I ask more in life? Nothing, of course. Maybe just that my happiness didn’t fade away.”