How would you reuse an old school or a hospital? Buyers urged to use their imagination

After operating for decades, many public and private facilities from the last century are ageing. Local schools and hospitals are upgrading, relocating or rebuilding. But what happens to the original buildings, sitting on large parcels of land in well-located areas, with extensive infrastructure on-site and, often, holding immense sentimental value to the community?

In some cases, tired buildings might get bulldozed, rezoned and redeveloped, as is happening in the NSW country town of Macksville, where the former public hospital sold for $1.65 million and will be razed to make way for a residential development.

Or, with enough creativity, council approval and (of course) coin, these vast properties can take on a new life.

In Wodonga, listing agent Oscar Dixon of Dixon Commercial Real Estate is selling the Murray Valley Private Hospital building, after the hospital announced it would relocate to West Albury.

Dating back to the 1970s, the complex – characterised by the distinct use of concrete, steel and glass – was commissioned by the Trade Union Training Authority to operate as the Clyde Cameron College.

“It has been an iconic building in Wodonga since it was built,” Dixon said. “We had a lot of interest from Melbourne and locally, out of Albury-Wodonga. But as soon as you say it has heritage implications, it does minimise interest from a lot of prospective buyers.”

With “a lot of work to be done” in some parts of the building, it’s a project that appeals to a small subsection of buyers and developers.

“The site as it is would be a hell of a lot more valuable if you could knock it down,” Dixon said, quickly adding “there would be huge community uproar” if that was the case.

But demolition is out of the question, as the entire building has a heritage listing from the Heritage Council of Victoria due to its architectural significance.

Dixon said the site could be morphed into a community facility, office space, another medical facility or a school. “There are plenty of options,” he said. “It’s as broad as your imagination.”

The 16,500-square-metre property was marketed with a price guide north of $5 million and is currently under offer, after three formal offers were made at the end of last year. Dixon wouldn’t yet comment on the buyer’s plan for the future use of the site.

In Sydney, the current Marrickville Library is a shining example of how a hospital can be radically readapted. Formerly the Marrickville Hospital, its transformation into a sleek community library was finished in 2019 and went on to win a suite of design gongs.

BVN Architecture, the firm behind the library project, champions the “adaptive reuse” of buildings. More recently its team designed the new Quay Quarter Tower, in which 65 per cent of the original tower and 95 per cent of the original core was retained.

Radical approaches to architecture and rebuilding have proven it is possible to create new-looking buildings that meet or exceed current energy standards while dramatically reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

The future of a small rural school building on the outskirts of Mullumbimby in northern NSW is still up in the air after it was listed for sale by the local chapter of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The school was closed in 2008 and was rented out to several education organisations until it was damaged in the 2022 floods that devastated the region. Now repaired and renovated with polished concrete floors, it has a price guide of $5 million.

Listing agent Vaino Lillioja said the property was zoned for education so it would best suit a childcare centre, training college or school. 

“[We had] a lot of enquiries from locals but they don’t have that sort of money,” Lillioja said. “It’s definitely turned a lot buyers off because of the zoning and the floods.”

Lillioja is in discussions with a prospective buyer, a local businessman who attended the school as a child.

It is possible for properties to be rezoned, however, it is subject to council approval.