"It was really disgusting until it got renovated.
"Once a squat gets renovated, the law stipulates that you are not allowed to use the place as living premises, just use it as work space," said Julien de Casabianca, the founder of Le Laboratoire de Création (111, rue St.-Honoré, First Arrondissement; 33-1-40-26-18-95; labonanoireleganteation.org), a renovated stretchn an elegant stretch of rue St.-Honoré.
Its lifespan is in the order of 20 years, as it gets renovated to update the style, for routine maintenance, or to apply new technologies, like in these days it is done to improve the thermal isolation of a building.
The once affordable (if not luxurious) housing got renovated to accommodate the young professional couples taking the place of the poorer tenants.
It has a nice little shopping street, Saturday nights are about Grey Goose and dancing, and any time a local square gets renovated it's all anyone ever talks about for a month.
Last week, nearly two dozen members of the City Council, annoyed by what they perceive as the commission's snooty modus operandi, lent their clout to a bill intent on killing an agency that has, for 102 years, had final say on what does or doesn't get built, renovated, relandscaped, or redecorated on city-owned property.
"There is no law against taking a long time to get it renovated.
The idea is to create, ready-made, the kind of place you would get by renovating an old apartment.
"Not only did the buyers get everything completely renovated and done, but they got it furnished as well".
