collective live+work spaces
for people going places with purpose

VV Cap-Pyrenees
property details
for a Patronship Hub House co-operative coliving project

#102 🏅74%  VISITED • €44k • commercial • village • 3300m² complex • solid and suitable for extensive facilities including cohousing
📍MapAdvert #1
southern France — near Tarbes, (Toulouse)
☃️3–11–18°☀️8☁️10 • 🍂14–26°☀️6☁️10 ⇫450m
OKAY  🔨 effort
BAD  🚌 transport
OKAY  ✈️ access
OKAY  🛒 shops
OKAY  🏙 towns
GOOD  🧗 activities
GOOD  ☀️ climate
GOOD  ⛰️ nature
GREAT  🌷 garden
GREAT  🏠 building
OKAY  ⛲️ hood
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Environment ✧ rolling argicultural valleys at base of the Pyrenees; some paths on doorstep, lots close drive; 30mins walk to river, lakes and swimming

Services ✧ bakery and good village store 15mins walk; small town 15mins drive/30 bike

Access ✧ station 10mins drive; +Tarbes 25mins train +15min airport shuttle; 1h train Toulouse; 6h Paris (€40)

Dedicated units for full-time residence and/or renting.

Notes ✧ village is unremarkable but has a minimart and a very good tiny resto using local products for pizzas/burgers/salads
✦ a natural swiming pool next to the river
✦ 5 mins drive there's a rural innovation center with fablab, a organic brewery (open briefly once a week for pub concerts) and even a campvan rental
there's a few paths from the door of varying lengths 30mins–2h as circuits, through decent woods thougfh mostly fairly uninteresting; nice biking trails starting 10mins away
✦ a bit distant from good nature though some variety a short drive, and much better in 30mins+; 45mins+ drive into mountains and skiing
✦ small town 25mins bike, station 30mins
✦ the town has a lake with SUP, easy kayaking nearby, rafting and canyoning 45mins
✦ a few nice villages closeby
✦ 25mins bike to caves with original paintings
✦ good hills and horseriding 25mins drive, 45mins to base of proper mountains, and 1h to impressive spots
access mainly through Toulouse, 1h10 by train (last 8:30pm, and served by cheap Ouigo), +10mins pickup, +45mins airport shuttle; last Paris departure at 3pm so acceptable for some connections, else the night train
✦ 40mins drive / faster train to large town of Tarbes, and there's also another nice little town
✦ 50mins drive / faster train to town with gondola and small ski station (Luchon) or 1h10 to big ski station (Mongie/Bareges) with gondola to Pic du Midi observatory (2800m)
✦ both ski stations have bike parks
winter is a bit sunnier than shoulder seasons increasing its appeal throughout the year, with fairly balanced cloud and rain all year except tail of summer, thus potentially pleasant with climate change
(there's thrice weekly on-demand transport in the mornings for shopping 8:30–11:30, or indeed access if suitably timed but awkward)
Property ✧ VISTED 27/09/23 video (MP4/better) / YouTube
✦ was on market with several agencies over time with price drops last listed at 220k in 2020
has similarities with Semkovo, lacking transit yet one can walk to the shop and bike to the little town, and would also be an absurdly easier acquisition, with its own garden, and what would be rather more homely architecture — but quite literally nothing remarkable thus effort would have to be made to make attractive both indoors and out (not exactly difficult)
cohousing units would be sold with deeds
✦ many rooms have balconies and the buildings are in an elevated position facing south over the small valley and up into the mountains thus would gain views — but only if trees were cut!
✦ all rooms are already ensuite and whilst wastes could be kept, new plumbing would still be required; joining two rooms together would make a little studio having a double balcony, larger apartments woudl be harder to position but there could be up to 10
current condition has deteriorated with vandals breaking all the ground floor windows and most bathroom fittings, plus outside doors, however excepting a few roof tiles the structure appeared sound, many room doors and windows, all shutters, probably all plumbing and even some electrical are in acceptable condition though most would be replaced as part of refit
✦ good value if cheaply fitout for high volume stays, thus requiring extensive refitting and probably soundfproofing etc, but also great for private studio and apartment units suitable for some families
the expense of refitting the entire property would be very considerable, not least just the large windows for the the commone areas, but much would simply be independent studio-apartments as cohousing thus for each owner, further a single building could be the focus to begin reducing scale
taxes could be quite significant, ~€15k/year, this would have to be covered by initial studio backers at circa €800/year reducing in half once the second building is completed and coliving commences (a retrospective exoneration for renovations applies, thus a couple of years could be discounted 50–100% once material costs exceed 15k)
an on-demand driver with minibus would be required; an average stay of 1 month would be just over 1 dropoff/pickup per day which is perfectly acceptable especially; a pool of electric bikes would also be likely, along with a couple of communal no-licence vehicles (e.g. Citroen Ami) so that or possibly just a second minibus
✦ would easily accommodate a team of volunteers, comprehensive residency programs, and one or two permanent guardian roles gaining dedicated housing units
2 large buildings; 5 floors of 350m2, and 2 floors of 100m2 annexe; 4 floors of 300m2 plus 100m2 top floor
✦ both buildings have lifts but the cost of putting these into operation is not required unless/until making more multigenerational and which would be in one building only
built 1970 and run by a large holiday camp operator
✦ sounds to have gas central heating
✦ probably all windows would ideally be replaced, all common area ones have been broken but many rooms ones remain ok albeit single-glazed, most of the floors are in good condition, even the (fake) parquet
✦ min 10 studios, several apartments, and min 20 coliving rooms, possibility of some private workrooms/studios
has a pool (16m) and 2ha of wooded land, about 14,000m2 garden; well buffered from neighbours and could accommodate a veg garden though if anybody wanted to do more significant growing they'd need to acquire land nearby; north is woods (on a small ridge) with paths and a stream, and west is fields thus could have an open aspect
✦ there were lots of mosquitoes when I visited but better land management (i.e. no stale water sitting in tyres) should entirely resolve this
✦ plenty of space for outdoor amphitheatre and events
may have some asbestos cement parts to remove though not apparently any lino tiles which is excellent as most are proper tile or laminate, and roofs are also tile so potentially only some pipes
✦ hundreds of dumped tires, however these do not sound particularly expensive to have removed
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