The Murrumbidgee Flour Mill is for sale through brokerage firm HTL Property. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Wagga Wagga’s colossal red brick historic landmark is back on the market again.
The iconic Murrumbidgee Flour Mill, located at the southern gateway to Wagga CBD on the Sturt Highway, is being offered for sale via an expression of interest campaign closing on 1 May (unless sold prior).
The national brokerage firm HTL Property announced this week its exclusive appointment to manage the sale of The Mill Hotel.
“Occupying a high-profile and material 7257 sqm landholding and forming part of the flour mill, the offering represents the cornerstone asset within an area that has benefited greatly from both public and private investment,” HTL Property said in a statement.
“With approximately 2500 sqm of structurally completed built form, including multi-level concrete slabs, new services infrastructure, and a completely reinstated roof system, this opportunity offers a meaningful head start to incoming capital and operating partners,” HTL Property broker Paddy Dalton said.
“Wagga Wagga’s evolution as an inland capital is underwritten by both government and private capital investment.
“The mill represents a rare opportunity to anchor oneself at the epicentre of this activity, via either a flagship hospitality use, or more broadly, a mixed-use development of scale.”
The mill was opened in 1890 and ceased operations in 1978.
For the past two decades, developers have promised renovation and redevelopment of the heritage listed site, with construction always “about to begin”.
A decision was made to subdivide the 15,360 sqm property in early 2024 after the larger property failed to attract enough interest in December 2023.
Later that year, Global Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE) told Region the 8314 sqm block on the southeastern side of the complex was under offer from a prospective buyer.
However, Region understands that the transaction fell through.
Artist impression of the mill. Photo: HLT Property.
HTL Property broker Ben Kennedy said the site, now back on the market, was “materially de-risked, with planning framework and physical works already advanced.
“What remains is the application of a visionary lens to realise the full potential of this landmark project.”
The listing boasts multiple features, including a carpark with 100+ spaces which can be accessed directly from Edward Street (Sturt Highway).
It also features MU1 mixed-use zoning, with a 25-metre height limit and 4.1 FSR. It creates vertical and horizontal development capacity (STCA) and retains a partially fitted restaurant and bar, with equipment included.
That portion for sale had been 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 2024 they felt 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.”
IHG Hotels & Resorts had initially signed a management agreement with the now defunct Interlink Wagga Central Pty Ltd (IWC), and a spokesperson confirmed to Region last year that the Holiday Inn remained a possibility, depending on the new owner’s intentions.
However, building new hotels does not seem to be in vogue in Wagga and the development application for 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.
The Mill Hotel, Wagga Wagga, is being offered for sale via an expression of interest campaign that will close at 3 pm (AEST) on Thursday 1 May (unless sold prior).
