Historic Thurgoona property on Kerr Road expects to draw offers of $15m
STORY ACCREDITATION: The Border Mail, October 1 2022 – 9:09am | WRITER: Ted Howes
A Thurgoona site with a 150-year connection to one of the Albury region’s biggest grazier families will be offered for sale by expression of interest on Saturday with agents hoping for offers over $15 million.
Ian Paterson, son of Scotsman Jim Paterson who was Albury mayor in the 1990s, said the day the 47-hectare site on Kerr Road sells will be tinged with sadness but “life moves on”.
The property has 35 head of cattle grazing there now but Mr Paterson said the land would soon have a completely different purpose.
“It was recently zoned as residential and we’re putting it on the market because as a farmer, due to an illness and my semi-retirement, I just can’t do it anymore – so the family have decided to let it go,” Mr Paterson said.
“It’s pretty sad because it’s been in my family for 150 years but it will make a very nice home for a lot of people too.”
Mr Paterson’s father Jim travelled from Scotland in the 1950s to settle in Melbourne then moved to Albury in 1964 where he launched a family business, True Floors.
Jim Paterson married Joyce Heath whose parents had extensive landholdings around Albury.
“Fred and Gordon Heath were known in the Albury area as graziers for many, many years and owned quite a few properties,” Mr Paterson said.
“This is the last one left. I’ve been farming it on behalf of my siblings – four brothers and two sisters – all still living in Albury.
“We were enjoying farming it, so it’s a hard decision but we really want to wind it up.”
A conceptual plan drawn up by Melbourne firm Biggin & Scott Land for the site on the corner of Kerr Road and the Riverina Highway allows for 270 lots.
Agent Andrew Dixon, of LJ Colquhoun Dixon, said he could see the project being developed into a multi-stage housing estate starting within the next couple of years.
“It’s been owned by the Paterson family who are very well known in this region but they’ve agreed that now is the time to sell,” Mr Dixon said. “Land is pretty tightly held around here so a block this size doesn’t go on the market too often.
“There are thousands of houses around here – it’s a great location because the views are beautiful and this is a big growth area of Albury-Wodonga.
“We’re expecting a lot of interest from Melbourne. There hasn’t been a big parcel like this on the market for many years.”
Mr Dixon said the potential growth revenue for the development could be as high as $80 million.
“It’s proximity to Thurgoona and Albury – and the fact that it is now zoned as residential – will make it very attractive to a developer,” Mr Dixon said.