How much would you pay for a Yarra Valley farm with airstrip?

“My grandfather bought it in 1926 and then my father operated it until 2008, when he passed away,” said Jamie Doake, one of four children of the late Jim Doake and his wife Judith.

“We’re probably not going to make 100 years. It’s time that everyone goes in their own directions. It’s a beautiful place, it’s got great views but sometimes you’ve got to move on.”

It’s a significant holding that has the potential to launch another winery operation in the cool-climate region known for pinot noir and chardonnay just 50 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, separately from – or in addition to – the Yarra Valley’s only sealed airstrip.

The separately titled properties occupy land previously owned by Scottish-Australian David Mitchell – the builder of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building and the father of opera singer Dame Nellie Melba – and he operated a vineyard on the land that was later cleared.

The Sunny Meadows farm property supports low-intensity cattle grazing and includes the original five-bedroom homestead, with an in-ground swimming pool and has established gardens.

There is a separate three-bedroom brick manager’s residence constructed in 1992-93 with views over the aerodrome. There are multiple machinery sheds, workshops and yards.

The aerodrome, home to Coldstream Flying School, was built by the late Mr Doake and colleague Basil Carlisle in 1962 and the 795-metre-long runway, taxiways and hardstand were sealed in 2013, giving it the capacity to handle heavy single-engined aeroplanes such as a Cessna 206 or light twin-engined planes such as a Partenavia, said Mr Doake, who manages the aerodrome.

“The majority of the tenants’ aeroplanes housed there are two-to-six seater planes,” he said.

Gross rental income from aerodrome tenants including the Coldstream Flyers Club and Yarra Valley Flight Training was between $400,000 and $500,000 a year, said Castran sales agent John Castran, who is managing the sale.

More than 500 people had learned to fly at the aerodrome since the 1970s, Mr Doake estimated.

The aerodrome, which has an 11,500-litre above-ground fuel storage tank, 17 hangars of varied sizes and open-air tie-down hardstand aircraft pads, has room for redevelopment to increase hangar space and also, subject to planning approvals, lengthen the runway to accommodate larger aircraft.

Mr Doake said there was development potential, but the aerodrome, which has the International Civil Aviation Organisation airport code YCEM, had long operated in a co-operative way with the local community.

“We have run it within the parameters of a fly neighbourly program and we’re very proud of that,” he said.