The producer of The Block has purchased heritage buildings in Sunbury, a former satellite town recently absorbed into metropolitan Melbourne. The buildings, known as B26, B27, and B28, will be the focus of the show’s 23rd season next year.
Located on over two hectares at the former Sunbury asylum-turned-university, the buildings will be repurposed as five family homes. A sixth renovation will also take place within a nearby building, with returning contestants working on a spin-off called The Block: The House Next Door.
The project marks a return to heritage renovation for The Block. This and the last season have been on new builds – in Mt Eliza and Daylesford. The year before that it extended and renovated a 1980s Phillip Island motel.
The state government, which acquired the property from Victoria University in 2018, sold the buildings to the producer for a speculated $1.1 million ex-GST. Industry sources estimate that the properties would sell for around $3 million in the open market.
The Sunbury Industrial School, developed between 1855 and 1856, was redeveloped as an asylum in 1879. The property was expanded between 1892 and 1912 before closing in 1968. It subsequently became the Caloola Training Centre, operating until 1992, before Victoria University took over.
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The university ceased using the property in 2009. The deal comes six weeks after the government sold the city’s historic State Public Offices to a student accommodation developer.
A 2017 adaptive reuse study assessed the three buildings selected for The Block. Building 1, the former Female Infirmary Ward, was found to be in reasonable condition, with large rooms of around 70-130 square meters. Building 2, the ex-Female Admission and Special Wards, was deemed difficult to adapt and in poor condition.
Building 3, the former Male Hospital, was considered more flexible and in reasonable condition.
The government developed a master plan for the precinct which will see residential development alongside retained, repurposed heritage buildings. The buildings sit at the heart of Jacksons Hill, a 193ha residential estate developed since 1995 by Development Victoria around the former Sunbury psychiatric hospital precinct, and are located at the eastern edge of the 33ha former university campus.
Notably, the sale price of $1.1 million ex-GST translates to approximately $183,333 per Sunbury dwelling. The buildings are protected under the Victorian Heritage Register as part of Caloola (Former Sunbury Mental Hospital), H0937, and the registration covers buildings B1-B45 and associated environment, roads, pathways, and other elements across the precinct.
