La Voûte/Grand Café
property details
for a Hub House co-operative coliving project

Environment ✧ hills amongst windy rocky river valleys, scrubland and woods; hikes on doorstep

Services ✧ supermarket, shops, bars/resto, weekly market; nicer village 10mins, town 40mins

Access ✧ bus at door, station 10mins walk; Nimes 1h15, +airport 30mins shuttle; +train 3h Paris, 3h30 Barcelona

Dedicated units for full-time residence.

Area ✧ most activities would not be around the village itself, but either on-property, or in the nearby areas; popping out for a coffee or bite is no issue in the village, yet much more pleasant hopping on the train/bus to the next, thus the appeal of the local village should only really be influenced by the fact that is has all that's needed
✦ the immediate countryside is not lush and lacks much variation, plus has major fire risks with dry conditions (followed by intense downpours at certain times of year), however the wider area within easy reach offers very impressive variety…

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village promotes streetart and has a small annual
✦ minor wood pallet factory, and pile of old factory buildings, one now housing a bric-a-brac community repurposing space, and a micro-brewery(!)
✦ a quick train/bus/10min drive/30min bike to a much nicer village with several weekly markets (including organic), good cafes/retos, plus riding and easy kayak; and another village at 25mins thus 3 villages for nearby outings
✦ 5mins bike (20mins walk) is a guinguette/riverside cafe; whilst the river through the village is ugly, spots to splash are close both up and down river though unlikely adequate for an actual swim (requires driving)
✦ a stunning spot 30mins drive for hiking and splashing
✦ the Ardeche river with gorges and other locations down the Ceze are also 30mins, notably Les Vans, with good gorges and more kayaking/riding, to 45mins for the famous Pont d'Arc and even more gorges
✦ other excursions would be an occasional daytrip at ~1h drive, for better mountain landscapes and some very nice small towns (Uzès, Andouze, Largentière), the Pont du Gard and the peak of Mont Lozere (nordic skiing)
✦ with a stopover for other sights to break the drive (from 1h30–2h), long days out bring Avignon, Ventoux, the beaches, Camargue etc into reach but these would be rare — coast is otherwise out of range, yet still possible as a two day trip staying over for those who really want it

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several hiking circuits are possible on the hills either side of the river starting 15mins along lanes and climbing 450m; the GR44B passes the door and leads to an impressive chateau (1h biking); the nearest moderate peak (1300m) is 30mins drive, however can reach a 1000m summit in 2h30 biking entirely offroad climbing gradually with downhill all the way back ;) similarly there's a 2h route to the small town with return by train or along the road
✦ tennis 15mins walk; gym 10mins bike but mediocore(?) and outside the village

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the main town of Alès is pretty decent thanks to ongoing improvements including a new market hall in progress, and will be 40mins by train (5-times daily 1€) or car, versus 1h bus currently (last 6pm)
✦ the lovely little city of Nimes will be 1h15 which makes it just about plausible for a daytrip (and often also just 1€)
✦ access is good; from the station Nimes airport (+30mins shuttle; Ryanair) with year round service to Stansted, Brussels, plus seasonal to Luton, Dublin, Porto and Morocco; some further options including Lisbon from Montpellier (+1h train and shuttle) with most choice from Marseille (+1h15 train and shuttle; major lowcost hub) covering Poland, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Morocco, …
✦ Barcelona at ~5h door to door is best by train from €40, similar for Paris

Property ✧ parcels 389,177,178,390 (prob also 390,391)
✦ could be veritable community hub albeit horribly expensive compared to waiting for a better deal such as Castellas, but 500m2 (the pizziera and B&B) is immediately usable and very presentable, thus crica 40k per room to acquire (eventual capacity would be more, but so would costs thus 3.5k/month-fractional/room on average)
✦ could be developed into a great space but the extra costs and effort are not relatively worth it, cheaper properties with more effort are ultimately better value, or more impressive buildings needing nominal works

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the cinema was built 1907, closed in the nineties, has a 750 seat capacity
✦ Casino/Bar =130*3 +cave +90m2 annexe, imposing facade +50m2 streetfront raised terrace; this is not specifically mentioned but is on the same parcel as the garden, is no longer in use and hasn't been sold seperately
✦ Cinema/Theatre 300m2 footprint; turning this into anything particularly useful could be tricky, especially as some windows would be desireable, possibly the facade could be opened up and replaced weith simply greenhouse glazing thus lighting the whole interior
✦ Pizzeria 180m2 *3 ugly but in very good condition with 9 bedrooms and the entire 180m2 ground floor as restaurant with wood pizza oven (not worth paying extra for though!)
✦ 270–420m2 courtyard garden with some trees surrounded by the buildings (and back of 2 neighbours) with a private rear alley; the casino annexe would probably be demolished increasing the garden