Soon hotels in Paris will have one more powerful competitor. It is announced that the legendary store La Samaritaine will be turned into a luxurious hotel. The department store is closed since 2005, so it will undergo a complete renovation that will last approximately 3 years.
The owner of this property is LVMH – a famous conglomerate specializing in luxurious goods. The company has announced it will spend approximately €450 million for renovation purposes. After this the old building with 142-year history will be turned into an 80-key hotel named Cheval Blanc. The property is located along the Seine River and will feature a Louis Vuitton boutique and a daycare center. The building will also feature 95 units of affordable housing.
First the idea of turning the department store into a hotel appeared in 2008. All necessary papers were collected and the city’s government gave the approval for the reconstruction. All works are scheduled to start in the beginning of 2012. The target completion date is 2014. As the sum of the reconstruction is really huge, this is going to be the largest construction project in the history of Paris funded from private sources.