Dean of the Old Port
A few days before Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Marseille, during which the head of state promised the renovation of 10,000 unsanitary housing, it is another part of the building of the Marseille city that stirred up its inhabitants. In question, the publication, on August 26, an ad on Leboncoin.fr offering for 1.2 million euros the oldest building in the city, the house of the alderman of Cabre. Built around 1535 and located a stone’s throw from the Old Port, its facade decorated with cherubs is listed as a historical monument. “This is the Marseille heritage clearance sale”, believes Florent Tizot, citizen who alerted the town hall on his Twitter account.
Nazi survivor
From the top of its three floors, the gray stone house has seen the centuries pass more or less happily. In 1943, it escaped destruction by the Nazis, who dynamited nearly 1,500 buildings around the Old Port. During the reconstruction of the district, in 1954, the building was moved about fifteen meters using jacks and turned 90 degrees. A story that makes Isabelle Durand, in charge of cultural projects at the Marseille tourist office, say: “It is a very important monument for the city, we are attached to it and it is integrated into many tourist circuits. ”
Owned by an individual
The building, which has three apartments of 50 square meters each, a studio and a commercial space, is owned by an individual, who is in charge of it as stipulated in the heritage code. It is found today on the market as part of an estate. For Alice Robert, in charge of its sale for the Radisson Immobilier agency, the choice to post the ad on Leboncoin came about naturally. After all, “It is the platform most consulted by individuals and investors”, she justifies. At the town hall, alerted only by citizens taken aback, we describe the “Surprise” felt when the sale was announced.
Under the eye of the town hall
Part of the Marseillais is scalded by the management of certain heritage assets held by private actors. In April, the tenant of the famous Villa Valmer, wishing to transform it into a luxury hotel, had destroyed part of the bastide, not respecting the building permit. City councilor for heritage strategy, Eric Méry is reassuring: “The town hall will follow the sale of the alderman’s house”. He is preparing to visit the place, accompanied by the architect of the buildings of France, who had not passed ” from a decade “. And does not exclude pre-empting the property to acquire it in the name of the city.