Owners of Melbourne’s historic Job Warehouse building in Bourke St slapped with show cause notice

THE owners of one of Melbourne’s oldest shops, the Job Warehouse, could be forced to carry out urgent repairs on the rundown strip of stores.

THE owners of one of Melbourne’s oldest shops could be forced to carry out urgent repairs on the rundown strip of stores.

Heritage Victoria slapped brothers, Howard, Henry and David Zeimer, with a show cause notice on December 7, citing concerns about cracks in the parapets walls and brickwork, the building’s stability and graffiti.

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The Job Warehouse, at the top of Bourke St, dates back to the 1840s but three of its four stores have sat vacant for years.

The Herald Sun understands that Heritage Victoria and the brothers have been negotiating for a number of months, after repair work was first requested in July.

The owners have since confirmed that the vacant stores were leased and the tenant had commissioned heritage experts to draft a conservation plan.

The company, Lovell Chen, told Heritage Victoria it could carry out repairs between March and June next year.

But the heritage protection group wrote to the owners on Wednesday to confirm the works would cover the entire building, rather than just the three stores recently leased.

It is still considering whether to issue a repair order.

Property owners who failed to comply with a repair order face five years’ jail or a $380,000 fine.

The exterior wall of the Job Warehouse has been graffitied. Picture: Sarah Matray

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Planning Minister Richard Wynne said the heritage building deserved the “highest level of protection”.

“If property owners won’t meet their responsibilities when it comes to heritage protection, we’ll step in and ensure the work is done promptly and properly,” he said.

Howard Zeimer said he was “disappointed” with Heritage Victoria for its “lack of communication”.

“They never answered two or three emails clarifying the requests that they wanted, including an email we sent with an engineers report of the stability of the facade of the building,” he said.

“We have a lot of faith in our tenants and that is what we told Heritage (Victoria).

“It is a great time for that building and in the next few years we would anticipate, hopefully, all these works completed to give a product that the people of Melbourne will enjoy.”

The building is one of Melbourne’s oldest shops. Picture: Sarah Matray

Cracks have emerged in the historic Melbourne building. Picture: Sarah Matray

Melbourne Heritage Action president Tristan Davies welcomed the move to protect the pre-gold rush Job Warehouse buildings.

“The top end of Bourke St is so important,” he said.

“It is a historic building with so many stories.”

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@moniquehore