A ‘SOLD’ sign has appeared outside the Old Murrumbidgee Mill. Photo: Chloe Van Gerwen.
Keen-eyed motorists on Wagga’s Edward Street will have noticed a change at the old Murrumbidgee Mill with a ‘SOLD’ sign slapped across the most recent call for expressions of interest.
The uncertain future of the iconic building in the centre of Wagga remains the source of constant speculation and local frustration after years of promises and stop-start developments that have failed to come to fruition.
Global Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE) confirmed to Region that the 8314-sqm block on the south-eastern side of the complex is under offer with due diligence expected to be completed early next year.
As for the ‘who’ and what the purchaser plans to do, we’ll have to wait and see.
A subdivision of the Murrumbidgee Mill is under offer. Photo: Supplied.
The decision was made to subdivide the property earlier this year after failing to attract enough interest in the larger property in December 2023.
The portion that is now under offer is approved for a 142-room hotel, however CBRE chose to advertise the property as a “blank canvas development opportunity”.
CBRE’s Nick Young told Region in September that they felt that it might be better suited for other uses.
“There is the prior approval but any future development wouldn’t necessarily be a hotel,” Mr Young said.
“We think this could be best suited towards large format bulky goods or a goods retailer of some kind, or a mixed-use residential and retail project.”
He also confirmed that they had been looking for offers of around $5 million and had received upwards of 100 enquiries.
The Mill Hotel Holiday Inn is unlikely to go ahead. Photo: Supplied.
The listing boasts of a “strategic landholding positioned in a rapidly growing regional area” with “78 m frontage” onto Wagga’s busiest road with “developer contributions and bulk excavation works paid and completed”.
The “motivated” sellers had reportedly poured $12 million into the floundering development before the wheels came off and it became mired in litigation and allegations of fraud.
IHG Hotels & Resorts had initially signed a management agreement with the now defunct Interlink Wagga Central Pty Ltd (IWC) and a spokesperson confirmed that the Holiday Inn remained a possibility, depending on the new owner’s intentions.
However, the building of new hotels does not seem to be in vogue in Wagga and the development application on the vacant block across the road at 7-9 Baylis Street is also set to expire unfulfilled.
The former service station block on one of the city’s most prominent corners was approved for a six-storey, $15.5 million hotel complex, however, Region understands the new owner has no plans for a hotel.
Region spoke to two other Wagga hoteliers this month who speculated that the city’s events-driven approach to tourism created a “feast or famine” scenario for the industry and made it challenging to generate sustained income throughout the year.
On the plus side, it appears that someone has a renewed vision for the Murrumbidgee Mill and we hope to finally see some movement over the next year.
Watch this space.
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