The biggest abandoned eyesores and development sites in Melbourne’s east
This Ringwood development should now be home to 11 townhouses, but construction came to a halt early last year. Now it is littered with vermin and weeds. And it isn’t the only eyesore in Melbourne’s east.
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They’ve been suspected of housing squatters, hotly discussed on social media and blamed for bringing down the look of the neighbourhood.
And while some sites have eventually been restored, Melbourne’s east isn’t immune from a few old building eyesores which have decayed following company collapses, fires or other problems.
Some have stayed empty or untouched for years due to a lack of action or blocked redevelopment plans.
Here’s a rundown of some of the most ugly sites in need of a bit of TLC — or should demolished and replaced — in Melbourne’s east.
ORIGINAL JOE’S
Destroyed in a fire in June 2017, not much has changed at this former pizza restaurant and function centre on Canterbury Rd, which has long irked Heathmont residents.
In fact, members of community Facebook page Meanwhile In Heathmont ranked it as the suburb’s top eyesore in a poll earlier in the year, and organisers cheekily whacked a certificate on the front door.
Owner Patrick Lamana pitched plans to Maroondah Council for a four-storey mixed use complex last year, including a medical centre and apartments.
But the council thought the plans were too intense for the neighbourhood and rejected his proposal, which he has taken to VCAT for an appeal.
THE OLD FERNTREE GULLY PIZZA HUT
Pizza Hut’s dine-in restaurants were a cult family favourite, but the good times ended in the late 2000s as the chain moved towards a takeaway model.
And among the casualties was its Ferntree Gully restaurant, which stood out with its red roof at the top of the hill on Burwood Highway with a carpark underneath.
It was left empty and unloved for years until Seaspray Pools finally moved in and revamped the site.
Pleasingly for those nostalgic former diners, the pool company kept the original facade, and it’s still there today.
THE ABANDONED HEATHMONT CHURCH
Heading back to Heathmont, many locals also have a gripe with this former church site, which has been unused for more than a decade.
The site was sold in late 2018 for $3.4 million, and a year later, it had deteriorated into a dump filled with graffiti, rubbish and broken windows.
The new owners pitched plans in March 2019 to knock it down and build a 139-spot childcare centre.
But again, Maroondah Council rejected the application, saying the proposal was too big for the site.
Like Original Joes, the site is also located on Canterbury Rd and its future is unclear.
THE GRAFFITI-COVERED RINGWOOD HOUSE AND NATUROPATH
Further west on Canterbury Rd, it would be hard for any visitor to Ringwood Golf Club or The Rings basketball stadium not to have noticed this former ugly monstrosity nearby.
The graffiti-covered house was long suspected of housing squatters and stood out for years, along with an abandoned naturopath clinic which was also on the site.
They were finally knocked down by developer Ly Keys group in early 2019 — much to the relief of staff and parents at the Choklits kindergarten next door.
There’s no action on the site at the moment, but Ly Keys plan to reinvent the site with 26 townhouses, gardens and public spaces.
THE ABANDONED TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT
Staying in Ringwood, this construction site has been untouched for almost 18 months — and there’s no sign of things changing soon.
Maroondah Council approved a permit for 11 townhouses at the site — the former home of five community tennis courts — in January 2018.
Construction is believed to have began on the site in mid-2018, but then came to a halt in April last year.
According to one neighbour, it has become littered with rats, vermin and weeds, and fencing had been removed which led to youths breaking windows.
In February, the Leader discovered the council had suspended the permit as the builder had “ceased to be engaged”.
THE TRASHED WHEELERS HILL GYM
Iron pumpers had to find a new home when the Lifestyle Fitness gym on Ferntree Gully Rd in Wheelers Hill closed in 2016.
And within a year, it became a haven for vandals who smashed windows and walls, covered it in graffiti and filled it with litter.
Plans were submitted to Monash Council to knock down the building, owned by developer Jells Hill Pty Ltd, into a townhouse and apartment complex.
But according to ASIC documents, the company went bust and was liquidated in June 2019.
Monash councillors showed support for a 65-townhouse development at the site in August last year, of which its progress is unclear.
THE ‘WELCOME TO WHITEHORSE’ EYESORE
It’s was the first thing drivers saw coming into Whitehorse — and was widely viewed as the area’s biggest eyesore.
The abandoned industrial building, on the corner of Whitehorse and Heatherdale roads, was smothered in graffiti and surrounded by rubbish for years.
Former Ringwood state Liberal MP Dee Ryall’s signs remained fixed on it for months after she lost her seat in November 2018.
Neighbours repeatedly called for it to be demolished, and they finally had their wishes granted in August last year.
The site remains for sale through Appleby Real Estate and could be turned into a childcare centre, showroom or hotel in the future.
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