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Smaller in size than New York’s Central Park, Monaco is one of the world’s most exclusive destinations and perhaps the ultimate playground for the rich and famous. With space at a premium and a luxury housing crisis on its hands, a €2 billion land reclamation project is currently underway, but what could this offshore extension mean for the future of the Monaco Grand Prix?
The Housing Crisis in Monaco
The second smallest country after Vatican City, Monaco is quite simply bursting out of its two square kilometre seams. With 35 in every 100 current residents a millionaire and another 2700 multi-millionaires forecast to settle here by 2026, Monaco is suffering from a real luxury housing crisis. There is simply no space left to build.
Keen to keep attracting the world’s richest people, reigning monarch Prince Albert II approved a £1.2 billion scheme to reclaim six hectares of land from the sea for the construction of new mansions, apartments, and casinos.
Whilst you could argue that such a huge investment might not make much financial sense in most places, Monaco is very different to most places. House prices here are the highest in the world at £47,000 (€53,000) per square metre, rising to an incredible £89,000 (€100,000) per square metre in ultra prime areas such as Monte Carlo’s Carre d’Or, and demand always outstrips supply.
Monaco is no stranger to land reclamation as it has been building into the sea for years. Since the early 19th century, this sovereign city-state has gained an additional 100 acres by extending in such a way, accounting for 20% of its current territory. In 1970, under the rule of Prince Rainer III, dubbed “the builder prince”, the entire district of Fontvieille was constructed from reclaimed land and now, continuing in his father’s footsteps, Prince Albert II has given the green light to the latest project “Portier Cove”.
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Introducing Portier Cove
Anse du Portier, or Portier Cove, is the name given to the new 60,000m2 development located in the waters off the Grimaldi Forum and Avenue Princesse Grace, changing the face of this most sought after spot forever.
Estimated to take 10 years to complete, work started in 2016 with the removal of protected marine species which were carefully relocated to nearby natural reserves. A very important step in the preservation and protection of the coastal ecosystem. Special submarine screens have also been installed to insulate the site and minimise the environmental impact.
Foundation work has begun and this alone will take approximately 40 months to complete, giving you an idea of the scope of the project. To create a space solid enough on which to build, silt is dredged away from the area to lay bare the rocky seabed. This is then filled with quarried rocks before 18 giant, 26 metre high concrete filled cubes or “caissons” are positioned in place to form a protective belt against strong sea swells. Finally, the sea trapped inside is replaced with rocks and filled with sand shipped in from northern Sicily.
Portier Cove will not only be home to several luxury villas and apartment blocks but plans also incorporate a one hectare park, public facilities, a marina with pedestrian wharves, a seafront promenade, Japanese garden and a small port. Although an entirely artificial space, great emphasis is placed on creating a natural environment through the use of Mediterranean landscaping, tall pines, and native vegetation.
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The Future Of The Monaco Grand Prix
Undoubtedly Formula 1’s most famous and highly anticipated race, the Monaco Grand Prix is also one of the most stunning spectacles in sports. The usual home of 38,000 residents, when F1 is in town an additional 200,000 spectators line the streets as the country is transformed into a top-flight race track. No mean feat at the best of times but even more so when space is already tight.
Current race day logistics are nothing short of challenging to put it mildly. Organised by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), they have just six weeks before race day to install 1,200 tons of grandstands, 1,000 tons of pit garages and 21 miles of barriers. In terms of manpower, 50 engineers work tirelessly on installations, more than 600 commissaries are in place, as well as 500 security personnel, 400 voluntary workers, and 40 doctors. In total, the race involves more than 3,000 people covering everything from police, fire and emergency services to civil engineering, town planning and the all-important post-race clear up.
As if that wasn’t enough, due to the fact that the streets are out of use during the race period, the ACM has just two weeks to dismantle everything again in order to minimise disruption to residents and businesses. Not only that, but after every day of racing the roads need to be reopened to allow traffic and pedestrians to circulate as normal. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.
So with land expansion plans already well underway, what will happen to this world-famous racecourse upon the completion of Portier Cove, and can anything be done to ease the logistical nightmare?
Portier Cove will begin just before the entrance to the famous tunnel on the Grand Prix track, and whilst there are no concrete plans to alter the course yet, Prince Albert II has stated that the route could well be diverted in order to take advantage of the new space.
“We always look, every once in a while, at different possibilities of extending the track, and certainly something to think about is that we are building the new land extension. There are no plans or anything yet; it is just in the back of all of our minds — people in the Automobile Club but also in the government — that there could be. I am not saying that it will happen necessarily, but at some point we are going to put our minds together and say, how can we not only improve this, but how can we make it a little more exciting by maybe changing the course slightly”.
There’s no denying that when it comes to Formula One, the Monaco Grand Prix is certainly in pole position, and with potential new opportunities brought about by the development of Portier Cove, we can but await the future with excitement.
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