Monchique council is spending €350,000 on buying up an old wood-yard and sawmill in the town to create an exhibition area for the council’s annual festivals that now attract thousands of tourists and locals.
The council wants also to convert the buildings into a multi-purpose space and have the first part of the project opened within twelve months, but first it needs to complete the deal to buy the building before the year end.
Mayor Rui André reckons the conversion of the building into a space that is capable of hosting the annual Presunto Fair and the Sausage Fair, will bring the total spent to €500,000, but it will be worth it as the building after the stage two convertion also can be used as a museum and perhaps a workshop.
In an interview with Sul Informação released today, André said he wants the building to be opened by next July so it can host the first fair.
The final deed is scheduled to be signed by the end of the year. In the meantime the council is working on a design to keep the best of the building and get it opened on time.
Stage two is to create the museum space that will show the importance that timber has had to the Monchique area throughout history.
For this museum part of the project, André said there already is "a pre-agreement with the Museum of Portimão and with the University of the Algarve to create a team to help preserve this heritage."
