‘It’s about time’: Council votes to sell Coffs’ historic museum building for $1m

There were fears it was being undersold, but a majority of councillors felt it was time to “move forward.”

Council buildings up for sale.Coffs Harbour museum. 09 AUG 2019

There were concerns it was being undersold, but Coffs Harbour City Councillors ultimately voted to accept an offer of $1,000,000 on the Coffs Harbour Regional Museum.

The sale of the historic building was determined at Thursday night’s chaotic council meeting. It is one of four Council buildings that have been put on the market to help fund the Cultural and Civic Space (CCS).

Last year an offer of $950,000 was rejected by Councillors and earlier this year they considered an increased offer of $1,000,000.

But due to concerns the heritage value of the building may not be preserved once sold, it was decided to delay the sale until an appropriate covenant was put in place.

A covenant was since drafted, outlining that any future requests for alterations or development which diminishes the heritage value of the building would be refused by Council.

The proceeds of the sale will go towards funding the Cultural and Civic Space.

Council will continue to occupy the museum for three years while the CCS is built, with a lease starting at $60,500 per annum. If the museum opens at the CCS earlier than the three years, Council will have the option to sublet the property.

Opening the discussion on Thursday night, Mayor Denise Knight said she had spoken to the buyer and was confident he would preserve the building.

“It’s about time we were moving forward on this,” she said.

“We know we put up that this building will be heritage listed and we know that the potential buyer is very interested and will keep it that way.”

Paul Amos had a change of heart on the sale, and agreed it was best to move forward. He said the building, considering its size, had reached its potential as a museum.

“This block now would be restricted as to what could be developed and while the price – maybe we could have squeezed a bit more out of it – I think that’s still a very acceptable outcome.”

Cr Paul Amos had a change of heart and threw his support behind the sale.

He added however that the Cultural and Civic Space would not be the answer as it didn’t have a dedicated museum, saying it would have historical displays “taking up 270-odd square metres which we already have.”

“I think ultimately we will be sourcing another site for a museum down the track and it will probably be more purpose-built,” he said.

Keith Rhoades opposed the sale, likening the $1m sale to the “size of a full stop at the end of a sentence” in comparison to the price of building the CSS.

“This is one of the last remaining pieces of our local history,” he said.

“The size of the block and the price that’s been offered is black and white … sometimes a lot of its value is not in a monetary dollar term, it’s in being a part of the history of our town.”

When put to the vote, councillors Sally Townley, Paul Amos, Michael Adendorff, George Cecato and Denise Knight supported the sale while Keith Rhoades, John Arkan and Tegan Swan voted against.