Albury's old ambulance station set to be auctioned in December

The historic building at the bottom end of Dean Street served the city from 1934 to 2014 when a new station was built on Wagga Road.

Agents Stean Nicholls have been appointed to sell the building on behalf of Property NSW on December 7.

The auction date will be less than a week before the 84^th anniversary of its unveiling by Ellen Waugh, the wife of mayor Alf.

Mr Waugh was double-booked for the occasion with a Dutch delegation in Albury to discuss the town’s famous response to the Uiver plane emergency landing at the racecourse two months earlier.

The ambulance station in its heyday. Photo: Fairfax Media

At the time of its closure in 2014, the ambulance station was the base for 26 paramedics and nine ambulance vehicles.

It was designed by Louis Harrison, who also designed the Monument Hill war memorial and the cinema centre, also in Dean Street.

The auction also includes the former garage and workshop.

Albury and District Historical Society president Greg Ryan hoped developers recognised the building’s history in future plans.

“The art deco frontage and its appearance on Dean Street are quite pleasant,” he said.

“You would hope developers have something in mind that at least retains the frontage.

“The old garage out the back has no architectural merit at all, but certainly the front of it does.

“It is not Albury’s biggest landmark, but people recognise it.”

It is zoned B4 mixed use under Albury Council planning rules with permitted uses including childcare centre, entertainment facility, function centre, accommodation, medical centre and indoor recreation facility.

Agitation for a replacement ambulance station began in the mid-1990s, with both sides of government unable to deliver on funding promises before a breakthrough in 2012 with the $4 million commitment made by Premier Barry O’Farrell.

State MP Greg Aplin conceded the property had taken longer than he thought to come to market.

“While it wasn’t used by ambulance any longer it didn’t mean some other government body wouldn’t say it suits our purposes,” he said.

“It’s an obligation to go through that process in the first instance.

“The building is beyond its use-by date and needs extensive work on the interior.

“The facade maybe be something that is attractive, but the rest of the building I could see totally gutted and rebuilt.”