The Lisbon Athenaeum, nearly 140 years old, has slipped back into the danger zone because of insolvency proceedings that have dragged on for four years now. The city-owned property is proving to be an insoluble burden to Lisbon’s public budget, and a commercial real estate solution looks to be the likely outcome. Administrators plan to move forward on a development project for the building, whose lease to the current organization runs out on July 10. A social network group, led by the owners of a bar in the building, has collected more than 1,600 signatures demanding the city keep the building and “return it to the community.” “We do not want a luxury clothing store or a new hotel,” says Teresa Mota Ferreira.
