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Vilcabamba Glimpse #25

The Old Sugar Cane Mill

Most haciendas in Ecuador grow sugar cane. Hence, a mill was/is needed to process the sugar cane. The photos attached are of the original sugar cane mill on the ranch, Hacienda San Joaquin.

This is an extraordinary structure with firm tapia walls about 18" thick. About 100 years old, the mill is in wonderful condition for restoration. It's a dream project for a creative person.

As it is, it's about 1,800 square feet. It's easily expandable. On one side, we created two terraces. One could expand the mill to these terraces to use them in combinations of indoor and outdoor spaces with the existing structure.

The original roof tiles just need to be cleaned to be re-used. We also salvaged the same, hard to find, roof tiles from the original hacienda house, which was too far gone to be saved. These are available at no cost to the buyer of the sugar cane mill.

The views from this site, which is just over a half acre, are spectacular. This property is L8 on our web site. The price for the property and the sugar cane mill is $103,000. First class construction costs here are about $35 per square foot. This building, on a tremendous Lot with world-class views, could be renovated easily. One would have quite an extraordinary home.

It's an incredible project for the right person.J

The photos:

Best, Joe

Joe Simonetta
Owner/Architect
Hacienda San Joaquin
Vilcabamba, Ecuador


P.S. International Living named Ecuador "The Best Place in the World to Retire" http://www.haciendasanjoaquin.com/best_in_the_world.html