Beechworth’s ex-Star Hotel for sale with approved revamp plans
The former Star Hotel, at 59 Ford St, Beechworth, was established in 1853.
A landmark former Beechworth hotel which dates back more than 160 years to the Victorian Gold Rush is ready to welcome its next owner.
The ex-Star Hotel is for sale with market interest anticipated to be in the $2m-$2.2m range.
According to the National Trust database, the venue became Beechworth’s first hotel in 1853.
About a year earlier, the discovery of gold at Spring Creek led to thousands of fortune seekers arriving in the area.
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This influx transformed Beechworth into a regional hub that’s today known as one of Victoria’s most historic goldmining mining towns.
A well-off miner named J.A. Wallace purchased the hotel in 1857, building a timber venue incorporating a theatre with seating for 500 people at 59 Ford St.
CRE Brokers’ Rod Devlin said Mr Wallace was known as “Seven Star Wallace” because he owned seven hotels with star in the name, at the time.
In 1864, a new owner bought the premises and built the two-storey brick structure which stands today.
During the 1920s, it was renamed the Star Coffee Palace and later served as a youth hostel.
The upper floor could be converted to a private residence or short-term accommodation.
The hotel dates back to the Gold Rush.
There’s also a historic cellar.
Nowadays, the upper floor sits vacant and there’s two tenants, a fashion shop and nail salon, on the ground floor.
Mr Devlin said the top storey featured an “amazing” pressed metal ceiling and several French doors which open to the veranda.
“The views from the balcony are just second to none,” he added.
The views from the balcony are “second to none”.
French doors open to the veranda.
There’s also a planning permit in place to use ancillary buildings as a studio and a retail, cafe or office site.
Mr Devlin said the one-time hotel is something of an icon in Beechworth as it’s in a prominent spot in the town’s CBD.
Most buyers who have inquired about the former pub are hoping to develop the top floor into short-term accommodation or a similar offering.
A planning permit is in place allowing the upper storey to be used as short-term accommodation or a private residence, pending conditions requiring some small works to be carried out.
The top floor’s pressed metal ceiling.
One of the ground-floor tenants is a fashion store.
The planning permit also allows an ancillary building at the rear be developed into a studio, and a second ancillary building into a retail shopfront, cafe or office.
Mr Devlin said there had been plenty of local interest in the address as well as queries from Melbourne and interstate-based buyers, including Sydney.
The 1051sq m property is for sale via expressions of interest.
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