Mont-de-Marsan (Landes). The Despiau-Wlérick museum finally launches its renovation and enlargement project. Since last March, preliminary operations began in this museum dedicated to modern figurative sculpture, with the launch of the asbestos removal phase. A kick -off expected for more than two years now, which is considering a reopening by the end of 2028 – early 2029.
Initially, the project had been voted in 2022 in order to reopen the museum by 2025. The amount of the site was then estimated at 13 million euros. But since then, the copy must have been reviewed. Faced with the increase in construction costs, the city had finally delayed the launch of the work. The chosen envelope is now 16.5 million euros, a sum highly criticized by the opposition which deplores an overly expensive and ambitious project in view of the commune’s state of finances. “” The project is launched, simply because we are ready, Defended Mayor Charles Dayot during the municipal council of March 4. It is a project that has meaning in terms of attractiveness, which holds its funding and which can be carried out without hypothecating the future. »» The city should take care of at least half (more than 8 million euros) and discount more subsidies to finance the rest. “Today, we have 3 million euros in firmly notified subsidies, acted, written (of the State and the Department). We have 2.6 million arrows, orally confirmed. There are around 2.7 million euros to seek on the duration of the site ”specifies Charles Dayot. The city hopes in particular to benefit from the endowment of support for local investment (DSIL) and European subsidies.
The calendar has now clarified: the call for tenders should be launched current of the month and then, from May to June, the demolition of the former Saint-Vincent high school will take place, on adjacent land that the museum will integrate to double its surfaces (thus reaching 1,200 m²). The project, controlled by the vurpas firm, plans to build a new gallery of around 600 m² in which sculptures of the end of the 19th century and the contemporary period will be exhibited. The Lacataye Dungeon – The medieval building in which the museum is established – will always constitute the heart of the course: its rooms will honor the main themes of figurative sculpture (female figure, childhood, fauna and flora, etc.). But this second phase, specific to the extension and development of the museum, should not intervene before 2026, at best. Archaeological excavations will first be carried out at the beginning of the summer, and their results will determine the progress of the site. New reservations also remain to be developed beforehand to unclog the museum. A building will thus be built in the north of the city to accommodate its collections, which bring together more than 2,500 sculptures, 1,000 paintings, 11,000 graphic works and many archaeological and natural history.
