Just a little further up from the Galleria shopping center in North Acajou, a new residential complex consisting of 65 units has been completed. This Wednesday morning, Simar inaugurated its public housing complex, L’Ecrin. A symbolic key presentation took place for two future tenants.
In the building’s courtyard, a paved floor topped by an indoor garden with a palm tree. «I’m happy. A beautiful apartment, top floor, great view. I can see all the way from Fort-de-France to the airport.» Laurence Ursulet is now a resident of Lamentin. The former Fort-de-France resident has received the keys to her new home—an apartment situated in a setting that’s truly a gem. The L’Ecrin residence, in Acajou Nord in Lamentin, was inaugurated this Wednesday morning by Simar (Société immobilière de la Martinique). It features 65 units dedicated to seniors. It took just three months for Laurence Ursulet’s request for a social housing transfer to be approved by Simar. She had lived in Fort-de-France for 19 years. Laurence Ursulet is now one of the residents of the brand-new L’Ecrin residence. It comprises 29 social rental units and 36 social rental loan units. Simar highlights the social and intergenerational diversity of the Fort-de-France residence. In addition to being dedicated to seniors, it will house a daycare center.
Jean-Luc Galy is proud of his latest housing development. «The setting is like a box in which we keep a beautiful, precious jewel. We must protect our seniors.» The group also emphasizes social diversity. «We have social rental housing, affordable housing, and a daycare center. A diverse population is really what we need here in Martinique.»
Demand is on the rise. Across the territory, 16,000 applications for public housing are awaiting allocation. Yet according to INSEE, the island’s population is declining. Between 2017 and 2023, Martinique lost 12,000 residents. For Jean-Luc Galy, the trend toward separate living arrangements is to blame. «Often, in these housing units, we have single-parent families. But there’s also the grandmother, the grandfather, and the granddaughter. They, in turn, are looking for housing. That’s the effect of families living apart.»
This housing complex is a testament to the dynamic partnership between Simar and the city of Le Lamentin. Since the early days of their collaboration in the early 1960s, 2,000 units of public housing have been built. The mayor of Le Lamentin, David Zobda, welcomes the development of the L’Ecrin housing complex, a project on a human scale. «We no longer favor large housing complexes of 500 units that focus exclusively on social housing—or even »hyper-social’ housing.” For the mayor, the complexes being built today are more thoughtfully designed and functional, promoting both social and generational diversity.
The total cost of the operation amounts to more than 11 million euros.
Laurianne Nomel
