22 St Jaques
property details
for a Hub House co-operative coliving project
#260 🥈86% LATER • €99k • typical • town • 350m² satellite • old pile in very presentable well-placed town
GOOD 🔨 effort
GREAT 🚌 transport
GREAT ✈️ access
GOOD 🛒 shops
GREAT 🏙 towns
OKAY 🧗 activities
GOOD ☀️ climate
OKAY ⛰️ nature
OKAY 🌷 garden
OKAY 🏠 building
GOOD 🏘 hood
Compare all properties
Beziers, Languedoc — near Beziers, Narbonne, Montpellier, (Perpignan)
☃️3–11–19°☀️6☁️11 • 🍂14–27°☀️8☁️9
☃️3–11–19°☀️6☁️11 • 🍂14–27°☀️8☁️9
Compare all properties
Environment ✧ beaches 30mins bus, rolling vineyards, coastal plains, (rocky massif)
Services ✧ all
Access ✧ station 10mins walk, direct to Barcelona 2h15, Paris 4h; airport 30mins shuttle, plus many other airports (CDG direct)
Notes ✧ great acquisition price for this location, but not insignificant tax overhead, and as close-by nature is is fairly unremarable it does not offer the kind of city escape that is targetted for a first property, rather it would make a better subsequent property connecting others having easy access between cities
✦ excellent connectivity with Narbonne 15mins, Sete 25mins, Montpellier 35mins, Carcassonne and Perpignan 50mins, plus busses to many villages
✦ town has undergone significant renovations with a completely new main avenue and a to be completed station concourse, plus many public squares
✦ there's a fabulous public garden (with loquat trees), several others, riverfront and canal
this location does not directly offer easy access to interesting nature though there are strolls and nice scenery, in season there's kayak/sup on the river, with better kayaking and horseriding nearby all year
✦ the nice canal front and locks are the only stroll, with the canal greenway offering a good way to explore a bit more from the door by bike; there are a few nice 2h+ biking trails great for beginners and decent for intermediate, just nothing particularly challenging
with 15–30mins drive/bus there's more hikes and activities, but nature of note is 45mins+ drive (with great variety from a craggy massif, red lake with watersports, coastal lagoons, or river gorges) thus suitable for outings probably once a week (this is equivalent to say going to the Glacier Blanc from Cloud Citadel)
✦ despite being pretty the town is not otherwise especially lively nor has anything of note, albeit more so than most, and it does host many sideshow events even having a nice theatre; neighbouring towns often also host events and the last return from Montpellier is 11pm
✦ I've lived here for some years so represents an easy start; I also know where all the fig, mulberry, plum, apricot and pomegranite trees are ;)
✦ climate is pretty decent, gets a bit hot in summer (no problem well shaded with cieling fans) and is increasingly affected by droughts in peak season thus July–Aug would probably be made shoulder (making a great value EU summer location) with June and Sept as peak; can be fairly windy; winter is reasonable but can be nippy unlike further south but droughts down there are worse
✦ excellent connectivity with Narbonne 15mins, Sete 25mins, Montpellier 35mins, Carcassonne and Perpignan 50mins, plus busses to many villages
✦ town has undergone significant renovations with a completely new main avenue and a to be completed station concourse, plus many public squares
✦ there's a fabulous public garden (with loquat trees), several others, riverfront and canal
this location does not directly offer easy access to interesting nature though there are strolls and nice scenery, in season there's kayak/sup on the river, with better kayaking and horseriding nearby all year
✦ the nice canal front and locks are the only stroll, with the canal greenway offering a good way to explore a bit more from the door by bike; there are a few nice 2h+ biking trails great for beginners and decent for intermediate, just nothing particularly challenging
with 15–30mins drive/bus there's more hikes and activities, but nature of note is 45mins+ drive (with great variety from a craggy massif, red lake with watersports, coastal lagoons, or river gorges) thus suitable for outings probably once a week (this is equivalent to say going to the Glacier Blanc from Cloud Citadel)
✦ despite being pretty the town is not otherwise especially lively nor has anything of note, albeit more so than most, and it does host many sideshow events even having a nice theatre; neighbouring towns often also host events and the last return from Montpellier is 11pm
✦ I've lived here for some years so represents an easy start; I also know where all the fig, mulberry, plum, apricot and pomegranite trees are ;)
✦ climate is pretty decent, gets a bit hot in summer (no problem well shaded with cieling fans) and is increasingly affected by droughts in peak season thus July–Aug would probably be made shoulder (making a great value EU summer location) with June and Sept as peak; can be fairly windy; winter is reasonable but can be nippy unlike further south but droughts down there are worse
Property ✧ being sold with others on behalf of the town as part of area redevelopment
✦ was a very rundown neighborhood however this location is its very tip, and whilst many of the surrounding streets have been tidied up it is right next to where the 'arabs and gypsies' live however I find this lends life and in any case means there's a choice of local shops
✦ a large number of adjacent buildings were demolished leaving land directly onto the back of the building due to be transformed into a public garden, with a remaining large block also due for demolishment to be replaced by a modern apartment building, the one that seems to have had approval towers over the east of the building, however looks quite interesting is partly open to the south, and low to west thus not blocking the cathedral view (3d view, publicity leaflet, website); regrettably it does not fully utilise the potential promenade with views over the walls, retaining it as a road rather than pedestrianising, and has limited commercial spaces that would be an excellent location for a coworking…
✦ this means there will be significant neighbouring construction works for probably a year or so from somepoint not too distant; given the high value of the project (a singular location having views) its likely to be swift
✦ just on the next lane there's another public square in the ruins of the old roman arena, and another in front of the church with views over the walls
✦ tax is expensive: €5k/year
✦ tennis courts are 10mins bike
a satellite with perhaps extra dorm beds permitting stopovers; the town has no proper coworking, so if there's enough space it would do well to host a few locals for occasional drop-in days as a mini-hub, a floor of rear building for coworking would accommodate this, in an ideal world one of the commercial spaces in the new apartment block would be a coworking
✦ probably 6 bedrooms though may not be ensuite, plus good dorm, common spaces may only be ground and rear building though likely adequate for a capacity of about 10
✦ average month stake would be under €3.5k
as building is an approachable height works should not be hard even with new floors for the rear building
✦ roof seems fine; interior is solid but in poor state with all infra likely requiring replacing, which is fine for refitting, might be partly usable with nominal effort
75m2 of potential outdoor spaces in 3 parts: 15m2 rear courtyard connecting to second building, 25m2 courtyard next to second building and hanging over future public garden, 35m2 of potential roof terrace on the second building which would be quite impressive looking over much of the town, having fab view across to cathedral being one of the highest rooftops around (except future apartment building)
✦ (for comparison Sun and Co have a 50m2 terrace; and strictly with the town's gardens the rank could be higher, however split into 3 it's )
original parcel 1065, 205m2, but renumbered
✦ 95m2 streetfront building with 6 juliet balconies and two large street openings either side of the door; split in 2 at the rear and probably also in the front
✦ probably 80m2 usable *4 =320 +60
✦ 35m2 seperate building at back, with cellars, 1 floor (currently inaccessible), plus attic that could be opened as roof terrace with pergolas, there's quite a bit of south-east walls which would probably be kept providing shelter from the sun and privacy from the apartment building; if the first floor is raised slightly this would essentially give two floors (probably coworking and a lounge) instead of cellars and interconnecting with the main building
✦ 25m2 courtyard, which whilst it probably could not open onto public garden, be part covered with another roof terrace and big window over the garden
there are some restoration requirements however these are fairly minor
✦ was a very rundown neighborhood however this location is its very tip, and whilst many of the surrounding streets have been tidied up it is right next to where the 'arabs and gypsies' live however I find this lends life and in any case means there's a choice of local shops
✦ a large number of adjacent buildings were demolished leaving land directly onto the back of the building due to be transformed into a public garden, with a remaining large block also due for demolishment to be replaced by a modern apartment building, the one that seems to have had approval towers over the east of the building, however looks quite interesting is partly open to the south, and low to west thus not blocking the cathedral view (3d view, publicity leaflet, website); regrettably it does not fully utilise the potential promenade with views over the walls, retaining it as a road rather than pedestrianising, and has limited commercial spaces that would be an excellent location for a coworking…
✦ this means there will be significant neighbouring construction works for probably a year or so from somepoint not too distant; given the high value of the project (a singular location having views) its likely to be swift
✦ just on the next lane there's another public square in the ruins of the old roman arena, and another in front of the church with views over the walls
✦ tax is expensive: €5k/year
✦ tennis courts are 10mins bike
a satellite with perhaps extra dorm beds permitting stopovers; the town has no proper coworking, so if there's enough space it would do well to host a few locals for occasional drop-in days as a mini-hub, a floor of rear building for coworking would accommodate this, in an ideal world one of the commercial spaces in the new apartment block would be a coworking
✦ probably 6 bedrooms though may not be ensuite, plus good dorm, common spaces may only be ground and rear building though likely adequate for a capacity of about 10
✦ average month stake would be under €3.5k
as building is an approachable height works should not be hard even with new floors for the rear building
✦ roof seems fine; interior is solid but in poor state with all infra likely requiring replacing, which is fine for refitting, might be partly usable with nominal effort
75m2 of potential outdoor spaces in 3 parts: 15m2 rear courtyard connecting to second building, 25m2 courtyard next to second building and hanging over future public garden, 35m2 of potential roof terrace on the second building which would be quite impressive looking over much of the town, having fab view across to cathedral being one of the highest rooftops around (except future apartment building)
✦ (for comparison Sun and Co have a 50m2 terrace; and strictly with the town's gardens the rank could be higher, however split into 3 it's )
original parcel 1065, 205m2, but renumbered
✦ 95m2 streetfront building with 6 juliet balconies and two large street openings either side of the door; split in 2 at the rear and probably also in the front
✦ probably 80m2 usable *4 =320 +60
✦ 35m2 seperate building at back, with cellars, 1 floor (currently inaccessible), plus attic that could be opened as roof terrace with pergolas, there's quite a bit of south-east walls which would probably be kept providing shelter from the sun and privacy from the apartment building; if the first floor is raised slightly this would essentially give two floors (probably coworking and a lounge) instead of cellars and interconnecting with the main building
✦ 25m2 courtyard, which whilst it probably could not open onto public garden, be part covered with another roof terrace and big window over the garden
there are some restoration requirements however these are fairly minor
…towards ownership and use in any property you think is a good candidate! To discuss post on Facebook, or email jacob@hub.house; and if you're especially eager join our Whatsapp group (for coordinating visits, votes and share issues).