The old Vesoul hospital (Haute-Saône), empty since 2009, will find new life. The Handy’Up associative group, which supports 1,600 people with disabilities, will transform it into a vast hotel complex. An investment of 20 million euros in total.
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It is an emblematic place which overlooks the historic heart of the city. The 10,000 m² building has been empty for almost 15 years. And it is an association that is leaning at his bedside today. The former Paul-Morel hospital in Vesoul (Haute-Saône) could soon come back to life thanks to Handy’Up, which supports people with disabilities and their parents. An associative group born from the merger between Adapei de Haute-Saône and AGEI de Côte-d’Or at the beginning of 2019.
The Urban Community of Vesoul (CAV) leaned this Monday, April 15, 2024 in favor of “this exceptional project for an exceptional site”insists Handy’Up. “This time it’s the right oneassures Alain Chrétien, Horizons mayor of Vesoul and president of the CAV. Because we have a magnificent project which respects heritage, which uses the entire building for inclusion activities which are exceptional.”
This will be his eighth life. Everything comes together to make it a success. Today, we are ready to transmit this heritage to this association which will make it a jewel of downtown Vesoul.
Alain Chrétien, mayor (Horizons) of Vesoul and president of the CAV.
Handy’Up hopes to open a large complex on site. “Le Castel”, that’s its name, could accommodate a 4-star hotel with 40 to 50 rooms, naturally displaying the 4 Tourism & Handicap labels (auditory, mental, motor or visual), a semi-gastronomic restaurant with 60 seats, and a large relaxation and well-being area including a spa, hammam, jacuzzi, gym and wine tastings.
The project also plans a business center with a coworking space, a brasserie with 100 seats and meeting or reception rooms for organizing seminars and various events. Finally, part of the buildings would be allocated to the tertiary sector, with furnished office rentals. Handy’Up would also set up its headquarters there and does not hide its ambitions.
Energizing Vesoul is important, creating a place of attractiveness for Vésuliens, for Haut-Saônois, coming to do seminars, organizing why not your wedding in a luxurious place like this, it will be something interesting !
Patrizio Iacovelli, general director of the Handy’Up associative group.
“Le Castel” will house a 4-star hotel with 40 to 50 rooms, a semi-gastronomic restaurant with 60 seats, and a large relaxation and well-being area.
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© Handy’Up
A total investment of nearly 20 million euros, co-financed by private partners, for an expected turnover of 3.4 million euros per year. The structure is intended above all to be an example of professional inclusion: it would employ 42 disabled workers and 26 able-bodied employees.
“After the market study, the opinions of architects and bankers, we said to ourselves that it was interesting to try this challenge”tells France 3 Franche-Comté Maurice Deckmin, president of the Handy’Up associative group.
We do reverse inclusion. That is to say, we are not waiting for someone to build any establishment or service for us. We are the ones who are going to create this service and we are the ones who are going to offer disabled people the opportunity to welcome ordinary people into THEIR establishment.
Maurice Deckmin, president of the Handy’Up associative group.
Handy’Up already employs a thousand people and boasts 34 establishments and services in the two departments.
Handy’Up plans to invest around 20 million euros to create “Le Castel” in the historic buildings of the former Paul Morel hospital in Vesoul (Haute-Saône).
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© Antoine Laroche – France televisions
The old hospital has experienced multiple lives since its construction in 1603 by Claude Besancenot: Capuchin convent, military hospital, college, begging depot and even infantry barracks. Lots of architectural transformations too. The building was enlarged in 1627. A chapel was built there in 1682 before disappearing 180 years later to make way for the north wing.
In 1905, the City of Vesoul became the owner, and in 1911, Paul Morel, then mayor of Vesoul, wanted to install the hospital. It took its name in 1934, during its inauguration, delayed by the Great War. The hospital will operate until 2009. It will then be moved to Les Haberges, in the new, more suitable intercommunal hospital.
The agglomeration of Vesoul acquired the site in 2013. In 2019, a Swiss investor offered to buy the building which was to house a gourmet restaurant, private cellars and a 70-room hotel. An investment fund based in Hong Kong was to participate to the tune of 26 million euros. But due to a lack of sufficient guarantees, the “winemaker’s castle” project never saw the light of day.
In December 2022, the urban community launched a Call for Expressions of Interest (AMI) but no project had to date caught its attention. The restoration and renovation work is expected to last many months. Before their start, Handy’Up wishes to launch a national competition for architects. A gradual opening of the complex is announced from 2027.
