Historic Aussie village with schoolhouse hits market

A historic village featuring one of Canberra’s best-known heritage buildings is up for grabs, spanning almost 12,000sqm and offering a blank canvas for inspired developers.

The Ginninderra Village at 11 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls is located in the heart of Canberra’s bustling tourist hub and includes the heritage-listed Ginninderra schoolhouse and residence.

The “vastly underutilised” 11,980sqm site features six single-level buildings, all of which were being offered with vacant possession.

The land parcel sits within the tourist hub of Canberra’s Gold Creek Village, and just a few hundred metres from the impressive 23 complete dinosaur skeletons at the National Dinosaur Museum.

The site at 11 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls is located in the heart of Canberra’s bustling Gold Creek Village tourist hub. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

It’s situated opposite the beautifully landscaped Cockington Green Gardens filled with handcrafted miniature buildings from around the world, and a stone’s throw from the popular The George Harcourt Inn.

LJ Hooker Commercial Canberra is running the expressions of interest campaign for the property on behalf of the receivers and managers recently appointed to assess market interest.

Agent Greg Lyons said the sheer scale and heritage component of the site made it a unique prospect for developers wanting to leave their mark.

“It’s a bit of a blank canvas and a question of how you can blend the heritage into a new development,” he said.

The 11,980sqm parcel features six single-level buildings, all of which are being offered with vacant possession. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

The former schoolhouse opened in 1884 and operated as a public school until 1910.

At the moment, the site is zoned for leisure and accommodation and can be used as an indoor recreation facility, childcare, restaurant, shop, craft workshop and tourist facility.

But there were a broad range of other ways the site could be used, subject to approvals. These included a club, bar, caravan park, outdoor recreational facility, commercial accommodation, as well as community activities such as a place of assembly and public agency.

“The buyer can take advantage of the heritage building, but also add a new development that caters for the modern population,” Mr Lyons said.

The site is located near the National Dinosaur Museum and Cockington Green Gardens. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

“There’s a whole range of uses, some of which are allowed at the moment, and some of which would require planning variation.”

The property has been landscaped with manicured lawns, gardens and mature trees, with the lettable area of the existing buildings just under 800 square metres.

Market sources suggested the asset could fetch north of $6 million. A smaller neighbouring site with tighter permit conditions netted around $4 million just a few years ago.

So far there has been “good, steady inquiry” from a range of people interested in the site’s various possibilities.

It’s zoned for leisure and accommodation, but can be used as an indoor recreation facility and other uses. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

“It’s a lovely parcel of land – it’s sat a bit dormant for a while, so it needs to be repositioned and for someone to take on the challenge,” Mr Lyons added.

“There were a couple of restaurants on site years ago that were quite popular.”

The site is close to the town centres of Gungahlin and Belconnen, while the Canberra CBD is about 12km away.

Nearby tourist attractions included the Australian Reptile Centre and Federation Square.

The expressions of interest campaign closes on December 10. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Contrary to what its name suggests, Gold Creek Village does not contain any gold or a creek – it was actually named after a racehorse.

The tourist area has grown since the 1970s but in recent times the Nicholls region has evolved to include some upmarket residential development, Mr Lyons said.

The expressions of interest campaign closes on December 10.