Villa Abadie
property details
for a Hub House co-operative coliving project

Environment ✧ wooded and pastoral hills below mountains; some walks on doorstep

Services ✧ bar and basic groceries (no bakery!), 2 restos, supermarket 25mins bike; town 10mins drive

Access ✧ station 5mins drive/15mins bike: +6h/overnight Paris €45, 6h Barcelona; airport 30mins drive/transit; Toulouse 1h30, airport 2h

Dedicated units likely for part-time use only.

Area ✧ village has a cafe, some restaurants (not all year), a small garden, a cinema and amusingly a 'night club' (really for the older folks); better restaurants a short drive
✦ there's a tennis court a stone's throw from the back door; in summer a small pool with jacuzzi (an aquatic centre with hammam is being constructed in the town, though the local thermal spa may offer individual access)
✦ not much to do immediately around except a good few woodland walks including a 2h circuit climbing to a restored fort; but there's a mill and abbey open to the public; lots more hiking and outdoors in the mountains around 30mins drive plus skiing (if it survives climate change); and many other activities including the Pic du Midi at 45mins; notable outings would thus be daytrips; there are busses to various places in the mountains too, and a hydrogen train
✦ horse riding 20mins; rafting/canoe/canyoning/winter trekking 35mins; a greenway is being planned 30mins bike away with an easy 1h into the hills (Arreau)
✦ the local town (Lannmezan) is not pretty but has everything needed and is only 10mins drive (bus runs twice daily to town in 30mins but 4h until return); there's a much better town (Bagnères-de-Bigorre) 25mins drive which has many good restaurants and an indoor market hall
✦ access to the city of Tarbes is okay at 35mins drive but easier by train in 20mins with a 5min pickup or 10min (electric) bike, thus escapes are not so bad (last train back 7:30pm); similarly which is 35mins and Pau at 1h good for the day out
✦ several third-spaces with coworking near, one only 20mins in an old factory having a microbrewery and event/yoga spaces with various classes; another in a rural setting 35mins away hosting textile and artist workshops, amongst others

Property ✧ sale failed due to refusal of loan, was relisted and removed again, returned again…
✦ at the current price the location is not sufficiently appealing but the size and condition make up for the lack of things at the door
✦ owners are also potentially open to alternative arrangements (e.g. keeping an apartment), thus a tranched purchase could be possible, which given its current usable state would be good value if the price was lower
✦ the property is big enough to be inward with decent facilities but does not really represent enough space, nor have an adequately favourable climate, however it's garden could be given a big orangerie
✦ all in old but usable state, 9x 2-room apartments (probably 3 per floor), plus common spaces; whilst one floor could remain much as is, the others would need complete replanning; used to have 30 bedrooms
✦ 5 floors:
✦ + 3 floors of 140m2
✦ + 100m2 attic with dormers
✦ + basement maybe 100m2
✦ + basement annexe 15m2
✦ + seperate garden house 65m2 on 2 floors inc garage, plus attic with dormer
✦ 1st and second floor have a single central juliet balcony above the street
✦ 285m2 of outdoor spaces: ground floor terrace 20m2 above garden-courtyard 170m2, down to laneside section with steps up of 50m2, and a slope up to street 45m2
✦ there's also a narrow 1.5m/35m2 streetside strip suitable for benches/tables with a glass overhang above it
✦ south-east exposed at back and north onto street