Latrobe City Council is inviting community feedback on a proposal to sell Hazelwood House in Churchill.
At its meeting on Monday 6 June, Council resolved to sell the building to Quantum Support Services, following a public submission process.
As part of the decision, Council has proposed to allocate the sale proceeds in Churchill and District to acknowledge the contribution of the community to the establishment of Hazelwood House.
Council went through an Expressions of Interest process in July 2021 to find a suitable buyer for the property, which resulted in two submissions.
The submissions were reviewed by Council officers against a range of criteria to understand the overall economic, social and community benefits.
Quantum’s proposal aims to use the land to provide affordable and sustainable medium-term accommodation for homeless and disadvantaged youth from the Gippsland region.
Mayor of Latrobe City Councillor Kellie O’Callaghan said Quantum’s proposal would provide a valuable service for the region.
“We are aware of the need for this kind of accommodation within our region, offering young people with appropriate support that’s still close to home. It will also create employment opportunities and pathways for training.”
Hazelwood House sits on over 3.9 hectares of land and was developed by the community to provide an opportunity for local people to receive aged care within their town.
It operated until late 2019 as a residential aged care facility, at which time its size and age rendered it unviable.
Council agreed to purchase the site in April 2020 and remove the covenants that restrict the site to aged care and retirement purposes.
Under Section 114(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2020 and Council’s community engagement policy submissions on the proposal are open until Monday 11 July.
