Historic former Blue Mountains school on market for more than $7.1m

Located opposite the Blue Mountains City Council, the 109-year-old property began life as an all-girls school before being converted into a creative arts centre in the 1980s.

The property was registered on the NSW heritage list in 2003 as an “important and distinguished landmark…with an imposing sense of scale”. The heritage office said the building had an “aesthetic significance as a large and individual example of the Federation Free Classical style”.

The 1.7ha property did have approval for 122 apartments. Photo: Supplied

While the owner, who acquired the property in 2014 for $1.7 million, had made efforts to restore the site, there’s a growing hope in the local community that the potential sale would revitalise the old building, the chief executive of the Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise, Bernard Fehon, said.

“In the last 12 months or so the current owner has done a fair bit of work to recover some of its historic features…it’s all restorable and the current owner has done some work to get it into better shape,” Mr Fehon said.

“No one wants to see it sit there and look old and tired. It’s a key piece of real estate with historic significance.”

The building was opened as the Mount St Mary’s Convent School in 1910, and quickly became a landmark in the Katoomba area. It  became a boarding school in 1926, and during World War Two served as a safe haven for children.

Due to declining student numbers the school became co-educational in 1967, and was eventually forced to close in 1974.

The property was passed over to the Sydney Archdiocese and was briefly run as a conference centre and camp retreat before it was restored and converted into the Renaissance Centre in the 1980s.

The property was sold to Crestown Pty Ltd in 1992 for $1.4 million. However, by 1998 it was becoming dilapidated and the subject of regular vandalism.

An action group successfully lobbied for it to be listed on the heritage register in the early 2000s.

There have been numerous other attempts to sell the site in recent years, and a development permit was approved for the restoration of the existing building and construction of 122 apartments, but this has now lapsed.

The property as it was last century. Photo: Fairfax

The large site has now been listed for sale by agents The Property Investors Alliance. They and the owner declined to comment for the story.

The main building boasts 20 beds, 20 baths and 20 parking spaces.

Mr Fehon said he hoped the historic property would be transformed into a space that met community ”needs”.

“If we think forward 10 years we expect it will be a significant part of the local fabric, and from an economic development point of view it will hopefully employ many people,” he said.

“Things like an educational facility right through to aged care are real contenders to fully utilise it in a way that meets local needs but also generates employment. It will only be sustainable if it meets local needs.”

Recently restored buildings in the Blue Mountains like the Carrington Hotel and the Hydro Majestic proved that this was possible, he said.

“There’s a real recent history of some of these iconic and significant buildings becoming thriving places of commerce serving the local community,” Mr Fehon said. “There’s a real chance with this site to be more than just tourism too.”

The current state of the Renaissance Centre had been the subject of serious concern from local residents and councillors.

Local councillor Don McGregor successfully moved a motion at a meeting in November last year for the council to write to the heritage division of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage expressing concern about the state of the property, and asking for its owners to be reminded about their responsibilities for the heritage-listed site.

“We’re concerned about the ongoing decline in the buildings,” Cr McGregor told the Blue Mountains Gazette. “We’ve got to stem the rot because it’s going on apace.”

There was even a recent push for Google to establish its national headquarters at the site, with local councillor Brendan Christie lobbying the global tech giant to move into the historical site. But Google was quick to confirm it wasn’t considering a headquarters outside of the metropolitan area.