Lithgow's former TAFE building is perfectly positioned, in the eyes of its new owners, to provide disability housing.
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Brothers Michael and Laurent Wallace purchased the building at auction on Thursday, September 12, after spirited bidding between three parties.
The auction was held in Sydney and saw the property go under the hammer for $975,000, up from its last selling price of $625,000 four and a half years ago.
It was no snap decision to invest in the property. Michael Wallace said they had considerable interest in the building before it came onto the market.
"It wasn't an off-the-cuff buy," he said.
"We have been doing our research and this time next year we hope to have it looking amazing."
The block's position, within a hundred metres of the local train station, made it the perfect point for disability housing, Mr Wallace said.
A lift would be installed to allow residents access to the building's second floor.
The pair did not underestimate the job ahead of them, having inspected the exterior of the building a number of times and the interior once with selling agent LJ Hooker's Jamie Giokaris. Walls have been kicked in, floor boards roughly painted over with a roller, fibro and doors ripped to pieces.
"The outside is a good indication of what it's like inside," he said.
The building, which has been vacant for some time, has been subject to vandalism and break-ins.
The Wallaces intended to be the long-term owners of the site, leasing out the high physical support units.
The design will be an amendment of plans previously proposed to convert the building to units, which was never enacted.
The new owners said they had had initial contact with Lithgow City Council and hoped to working through the planning process with them in short order.
In their vision, they said they would like to maintain the heritage look of the exterior, while redesigning the interior to allow for disability housing.