St Monica's College Acquires Former Aged Care Facility in Epping

Pictured above: 15 Coulstock Street, Epping

A former 55-bed Residential Aged Age Care facility in Epping has sold, in a sale brokered by specialist aged care business and real estate agency, Amicum. Until recently, the facility was operated by Homestyle Aged Care, which Amicum provided an exit strategy for their business due to the building being physically obsolete.  

Amicum negotiated the sale of the business to Oxa Care, with the business relocating with the residents and staff to the new state-of-the-art aged care facility in High Street, Epping. 

Homestyle CEO, Tim Humphries said, "It was an excellent outcome for residents and the Homestyle team to remain in Epping, moving together to one whole floor in Oxa Care’s new facility. It gave the Board at Homestyle comfort knowing residents would continue to receive great care from familiar faces, and at the same time safeguarded the jobs of the Homestyle team". 

Once the building was vacated, Amicum worked in conjunction with the commercial real estate agency, Melbourne Acquisitions, to sell 15 Coulstock Street, Epping. 

The property was sold with vacant possession via a competitive EOI process which attracted interest from aged care operators, social housing groups, education providers, hotel operators, local developers and private investors. The sale price of $6,340,000 reflects a land rate of $1,565/sqm and a room rate of $115,272. 

Melbourne Acquisitions director Dom Gibson said the property attracted wide appeal due to the size of the existing improvements, property zoning and location of the property being nearby schools, public transport and retail amenity. He noted, "Rarely do you find established aged care facilities offered with vacant possession which always makes them well sought after and as a result we are handling a long wait list of prospective buyers eager to purchase similar assets". 

The property sits on a large landholding of 4,049 square metres and has been successfully acquired by St Monica's College, with plans for its future development. Interestingly, 30 years ago, the current Principal Brian Hanley, wanted to buy the site when it was vacant land but missed the opportunity. Brian said, "St Monica’s are delighted to have purchased the property and look forward to many years of using the resources for students and staff use and are excited to incorporate the heritage listed bluestone building, which was the original Catholic Primary School in 1871, into St Monica’s identity". 

The sale was brokered by conjunctional agents at Amicum and Melbourne Acquisitions. The acquisition of the property by St Monica's College sets a new precedent for the utilisation of former residential care homes. This move could act as a catalyst for other educational institutions to consider similar real estate for their expansion needs, paving the way for the adaptive reuse of these types of properties.