€700m facelift for 'ugly' Paris tower

PARIS'S Tour Montparnasse skyscraper is to undergo a major facelift costing up to €700million - with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo suggesting the neighbourhood could become the Times Square of the French capital.

An international architecture competition will launch in mid-2016 to find a new look for the brown 59-storey tower block, which has had asbestos problems in recent years, as well as the shopping precinct at its base.

Architect Jean-Marie Duthilleul is leading the competition and the Mairie de Paris expects the work to be completed by 2024 - potentially in time for the Olympic Games, if Paris wins.

Mr Duthilleul describes the current tower as "very sombre". Options being considered include making the tower "much softer, white and reflective", possibly with colours changing according to the weather.

Le Journal du Dimanche reports that the 280 proprietors who own office space within the tower have had enough of the building's negative image.

Patrick Abisseror, president of the Demain Montparnasse group, told the JDD: "We're aware that Montparnasse, which was built in the 1970s, is today considered ugly and old-fashioned.

"We want to transform this image radically, and make something that Parisians can be proud of."

The new plans for the esplanade in front of the tower include two hotels and up to 300 homes, of which a third will be affordable social housing.

The top floors and roof terrace of the Tour Montparnasse are open to the public daily and offer a popular alternative vantage point to the Eiffel Tower.

At €15, an adult ticket is €2 cheaper than the Eiffel Tower - with the added advantage that the Tour Montparnasse does not feature in any of the panoramic views from the top.