Melbourne apple orchard hopes to crunch seven-figure price

A boy who grew up eating apples from a nearby Moorooduc orchard now hopes to get a seven-figure sale for the local landmark and its owners.

The long-time owners of 1061 Stumpy Gully Rd, Moorooduc have price hopes of $2.4-$2.6 million for the 22.66ha block.

The Atlanta Apple Orchard, a three-generation family owned and operated farm for over 50 years, contains 9000 apple trees with six varieties from Golden Delicious and Fuji to Granny Smith.

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The property comes with sheds, caretaker’s cottage with a bedroom and bathroom, and a lake.

A large dam services the block.

“When we moved here in 1977, my mum used to pop over the farm and buy apples for us,” O’Brien Chelsea agent Stavros Ambatzidis says.

“It is a difficult property to price because there are not many orchards like this for sale.”

The suburb is tightly held and comprises mainly acreage properties and there were just seven such properties for sale as of June 7 on realestate.com.au.

Sales are rare, with only five transactions reported in the area so far this year.

Chance to own and run your own apple farm.

A buyer has several options, including as an investment that could be leased back to the sellers who could continue operating, according to Mr Ambatzidis.

Other options could include taking over the orchard or building a dream home on the site. There is also the opportunity to set up horse agistment or install eco-cabins among the backdrop of this orchard.

The property is close to the Peninsula Link, amenities, shopping schools and beaches.

The sale by expression of interest closes 5pm, June 27.

This article from Leader Newspapers originally appeared as “Moorooduc apple orchard owners seeking fruitful sale”.