The property company Foncière Chênelet belongs to the Chênelet group, which comprises several eco-building companies promoting labor market integration. It was created in 2009 with the dual objectives of reinventing the social housing model while supporting local development and social inclusion.
To fulfill this mission, Foncière Chênelet funds social housing with high environmental quality, built with healthy and energy-efficient material as opposed to traditional social housing that often come with increased energy costs due to low environmental quality, thus increasing residents’ precariousness. All these measures reduce rental charges by a factor of 6 compared to mainstream social housing !
Foncière Chênelet ’s mission also consists in establishing partnerships to construct the operated buildings. As a matter of fact, 30% of Chênelet-operated buildings are built by Chênelet Construction, the eco-construction subsidiary of the group Chênelet that employs people on social integration contracts. In Chênelet buildings, each square meter is equivalent to 50 labor hours on such contracts. The remaining construction work is carried out by local actors, within a 50-km radius from the construction site, so as to stimulate local economic activity.
To this day, 119 social housing apartments were built, allowing 400 low-income individuals to be rehoused.