Atelier du Vieux Moulin

property details · for a Hub House co-operative coliving project

area ✧ plus points:
  ✧ south facing garden above river
  ✧ mainline station at door
  ✧ no need for vehicle (though better with)
  ✧ on edge of a tiny town with all facilties
  ✧ not far to more towns, and the city
  ✧ mountains by train (+ gondola) or bus
  ✧ good size
  ✧ potential addition of 2–3 indepenent studio units
  ✧ new roof
  ✧ few load bearing walls for optimal layout

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the town has a good weekly market with covered hall (actually 2! but one is just used for parking, and an annual world music festival), organic veg producer 30mins walk/10 bike
✦ small supermarket 5mins walk, bigger 30mins walk, even bigger and organic 15mins bike

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more towns:
  ✧ Luchon 45mins train (last 7:30pm), small but moderately touristic due to its ski station with gondola and thermal spa; good restos, market hall, even an organic fish farm; would be a very regular outing
  ✧ Tarbes 40mins train (last 7:45pm), regional centre with a big botanical public garden, pleasant palm tree lined streets, 2 huge indoor markets
  ✧ Toulouse 1h05 train (last 8:30pm), the city of red stone
  ✧ Lourdes 1h (train), Bagneres 1h (drive), some tiny towns at 30mins down in the plains for variety, and lots of villages
  ✧ the very close town of St Gaudens (10mins train) is not notable and has a wood pulp factory so likely best avoided — except for its gastro market hall and maybe restos (Lebanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian,…)
✦ the last train is not very late so going out for the evening is impossible however not likely to be important and indeed occasional boisterous events would be hosted at the property itself as it is plenty big enough; latest flight at Toulouse would have to land no later than 7pm, a bit earlier for Tarbes (seasonal services to Lisbon, Malta, Palermo, etc.)

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the local station and bus serve stops for hiking and biking
✦ decent but moderately tame biking in woods and along river from door, and fairly gentle hikes, but with a dropoff can include through woods, along little irrigation canals, or 20mins to impressive outcrops (also by bus but much longer hike) and… peaks nearby 1200–1700m and can be reached by bus, or a 30min drive to start from higher
✦ also good serious multi-day hiking possible as there's lots of refuges
✦ hikes for major peaks 40mins train or drive starting from 1200m climbing to lakes and 2500m+
✦ 20mins walk/5mins bike to covered tennis (unusually!), golf course (also another at Luchon), and swimming lake with resto/bar where walks start
✦ kayaking and horse riding close
✦ tiny spot for climbing next to river just 15mins bike, many others not far, adventure park with via ferrata 25mins drive (or bus), 2 better 45mins drive; huge indoor climbing centre next to the station in Tarbes (19m wall) another coliving (next valley, slightly deeper in the mountains) 40mins drive so occasional combined activities could be organised
✦ during the summer there's a place 5mins walk that hosts DJ sets in their garden

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3 ski stations also good for biking/hiking
  ✧ larger with gondola to 1700m and lifts reaching 2200m
  ✧ smaller 30mins drive reaches 1800m, for airboard, nordic ski, snowshoe walks, biking, mountain scooter, etc
  ✧ tiny 45mins drive/shuttle (from station!) at 1600m also reaching 1800m
✦ the small ones are not often open due to inadequate snowfall

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climate has good stable number of sunny days all year but obviously colder with less greenery in winter, only one month would have any significant risk of snow due the low altitude; with winter still reaching 18° it would remain quite pleasant but would favour work-focus rather than outdoor activity
✦ there's showers on half the days all year round but all still get sun — for those comparing to England: 4° warmer, heavier showers (almost twice as much), yet less than half the grey days with more sun
✦ the down season of Dec–Mar is fairly long though could have a premium for skiing and would remain pretty decent with good facilites such as conservatory, wood fires, sauna, …
✦ the average cost for colivings in the region is €1000/month without optimal facilities thus no issue to improve upon, remaining competitive and differentiated

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property detail ↗︎

property ✧ visit pending good weather
✦ 82k Sept'25 so fast sale wanted with this drop

compared to more isolated village buildings immediately usable for a bit more cost the tradeoff of more work, mainline station, decent town and future units is worthwhile

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great potential capacity to be big enough to feel lively with generous space and quiet corners

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the main part of a larger building, the end of which is the next door neighbour
✦ on the edge of the town, 15mins walk up to the centre
✦ partly usable but nominal, i.e. some newer parquet and perhaps slightly newer windows on 1st floor only (thus advertised as 120m2)
✦ roof relaid, a major saving of effort
✦ no insulation and very tatty, not significant but is once all work is added up for all floors, nonetheless full fitout could be done gradually

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south facing with 700m2 garden to the river edge quite a few metres below a small retaining wall (bottom can flood but no risk, see photo)
✦ the river is not really a feature, however with some steps and terraced retaining walls could be made a bit more so
✦ quite a few trees blocking the view that'd need cutting back (but not removing as they hold the bank together); also divide from the neighbour, but some of which would be cut back to catch more morning sun
✦ could build a pool, may not be worth the cost unless above ground, however river swimming is not really a thing nearby, though there is the lake
✦ mosquitoes could be an issue yet the river has flow even in summer so unlikely, whereas I've met plenty in some of the damp woods (good reason to climb!); if it is a problem, e.g. if the river gets too slow, then a large net could be raised high over part of the garden including the 2nd floor and studios

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good variation amongst accommodation, with 3 studios (future) at the high end, ensuites rooms (12m2, 1.6m double), micro rooms (8m2 with windows, 1.4m double, shared bethroom), and capsules (singles but full 1.6m width)

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ground
  ✧ open-plan kitchen/dining/lounge (90m2) with some casual workspace, more workspace at entrance (15m2), plus an orangerie (future)
  ✧ storage/laundry/bikes (west, 30m2)
  ✧ barn and ruin to rebuild as 3 20m2 garden mezzanine studios plus capsule dorm (4) and bathroom or a multiuse space†
  ✧ orangerie
✦ 1st
  ✧ 7 ensuite plus rooms (2.5+*4.5) with access via exterior balcony-terrace
  ✧ 2 bathrooms
✦ 2nd
  ✧ terrace entirely removed with new wall constructed to regain the space
  ✧ 20m2 focus workspace (west)
  ✧ 30–40m2 library-lounge (centre) with french doors and juliet balcony
  ✧ 5 mini rooms (east) 1.6m*5m deep with hall on north
  ✧ (5 capsules)
  ✧ 1 bathroom

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common spaces would be really quite generous
✦ layout does not isolate common space from bedrooms in case of parties/lound movies, though would hardly be frequent
✦ mini rooms ('monastic cells') could have capsules above them leaving the barn spaces free for indoor yoga and other practices which could be valuable albeit pushes the capsules down in price; these would be low but the hall could be kept wide enough for them to not be awkward to climb up to
✦ † possible the ruined part of the barn is no longer rebuildable due to flood risk, is technically allowed providing approved, perhaps only 2 studios would be built

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1st and 2nd floors have recessed covered terraces, not really desireable nor best use of space, indeed the top floor would do away, replacing with some juliet doors
✦ 4 north windows on each of 1st and 2nd only (not ground!)
✦ the 2nd/top floor would be a great common space into the roof with views over the river to the mountains

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main entrance is through large portal doors, the space of which would be reclaimed and sealed as a room; will also need its ceiling lowering as the floor above is higher than the remainder which is too odd
✦ not clear where stairs are, maybe the east end, better if the west
✦ main building 160m2 footprint; 6m deep, 23m2 long
✦ 45m2 barn (9m long, 5m deep) and 45m2 ruin
✦ ~30m2 of terrace on each of 1st and 2nd
✦ the terrace cielings are lathe-plaster and falling apart so need stripping and replacing
✦ 7 windows/doors across at south, along 17m length, then 5m obstructed (by barn)
✦ 4 windows across at north
✦ cieling heights are moderate, maybe 3m likely less
✦ 2nd floor is unconverted with no north windows, surface is old boards but super easy to refit with wood fibre (soft then board) plus seagrass
✦ roof / 2nd floor has 5 trusses for 7 segments of 4.5m width; the beams are supported by the nworth wall and on the south exposed (wood) columns at the exterior of the terraces, should be covered and given some blockwork to secure and better carry loads
✦ outdoor steps could be added along the neighbour's edge creating privacy, up to the 1st floor, and possibly the 2nd too (but would use room space for entrance)

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reasons for low price:
  ✧ poor condition, the costs of bringing up to standard for renting using French labour would be prohibitive; no issue for coliving and using volunteering
  ✧ there's a small water treatment plant just after the neighbour, whilst these generally do not produce any smell it is occasionally possible, nontheless there's plenty of suburban villas around so not likely any concern at all
  ✧ flood risk, really only the bottom of the garden though this itself could suffer erosion, any risk to the building is perhaps every hundred years and still low due to a bridge blocking flow and there being expansion plains both before and after

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owner used to be a bike mechanic

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tax would initially be low, but would rise to minimum €3k and possibly up to €4.5k