For decades, its silhouette has been part of Lille's landscape without exactly making you want to spend your Saturday afternoon there. But that's about to change. The former Lille Administrative Center, a massive building located just steps from the train stations, is going to be completely converted into a new living space that opens onto the city. And given the planned program, the old office tower is set to experience quite a remarkable shift in atmosphere.
660 homes will find a place in the former tower
Housing will be at the heart of the project. In total, approximately 660 homes are to be created in the former Administrative Center. The program first calls for a private student residence of nearly 400 units. This will be joined by a social housing residence of around 170 units, divided between student housing managed by CROUS, housing for young professionals, and units in Employment-Oriented Housing Residences. Finally, approximately 90 family homes will be built, with several options: intermediate housing
, social rental housing and solidary ground lease housing. Students, young professionals, families and seniors should therefore cross paths in a building that, until now, mostly housed administrative offices.A panoramic restaurant is going to open on the roof
And this is probably the part that could interest many people from Lille who have no intention of living there. The project plans to open a public-access rooftop restaurant, with announced views over Lille and its metropolitan area. Perched at the top of this imposing 25-level building, it should offer a fairly unique vantage point over the city. For now, neither the future operator nor the restaurant concept have been revealed. But the idea is clearly to make it one of the elements that will help open up the former Administrative Center to the rest of the city. Because a rooftop with a view overLille remains slightly more welcoming than a public service counter on the eighth floor.
A shop and cultural space open to the neighborhood
The future development won't be reserved for residents only. A shop will be set up on the ground floor, alongside a cultural and artistic space designed as a meeting place and entertainment hub open to the neighborhood. The Duval Group, chosen to lead the conversion, wants to transform the former administrative building into a vibrant destination bustling with activity throughout the day, including visitors who don't live there. The project will encompass a total of more than 20,000 m² of floor space blending housing, culture, shopping, and dining. All of this will turn the building from a massive administrative block into a genuine neighborhood destination.
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Nearly 3,500 m² of garden will replace part of the concrete
The change will also be visible at the foot of the tower. The outdoor spaces are being completely reimagined with the creation of a landscape garden of nearly 3,500 m², designed to bring more vegetation and open ground around the building. The stated goal is to make it an open space, capable of serving as both a passageway, a meeting place, and a place to breathe in this particularly mineral sector of Lille's city center. And knowing the current state of the surroundings of the Administrative Center, a few thousand square meters of greenery shouldn't go completely unnoticed.
The massive building won't be demolished
Another unique feature of the project: despite the scale of the transformation, the tower will remain standing. Built between the 1950s and 1970s and designed by architects Albert Laprade and Serge Ménil, the former Administrative Center is now part of the architectural heritage
20th century Lille architecture. Rather than starting from scratch, the project led by the Duval Group and the Hamonic+Masson & Associés agency plans to preserve the existing structures and much of the building's architectural identity. The renovation should also prioritize the reuse of materials, reduce carbon footprint, create green spaces, and integrate renewable energies. Quite an undertaking for a complex currently covering around 31,000 m².The State sold the building for just over 6 million euros
The conversion comes after the departure of state services and several months of procedures. The sale of the former Administrative Center was officially launched in July 2025. After a two-round call for candidates, SNC Duval Développement Hauts-de-France was selected. Sale amount: 6.07 million euros. The Duval Group had been officially selectsigned winner on May 28, 2026, before the project is presented in greater detail with the State and the City of Lille. This should put an end to questions about the future of this enormous building that has loomed over Gustave-Delory street for more than half a century.
Three years of construction before opening in 2030
Still, you'll have to wait before booking a table on the rooftop. Construction is set to begin in 2027 and last approximately three years. The entire project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2030. Between now and then, tens of thousands of square meters of former offices will need to be transformed into homes, new public spaces will be created, gardens will be laid out, and all future public venues will be installed. But ultimately, between the 660 apartments, the panoramic restaurant, the garden, shops, and cultural spaces, the old Administrative City should become unrecognizable. Well… without truly disappearing.