'Ripe for someone to do something spectacular': Converted schoolhouse for sale

$750,000 - $825,000

18B Barkly Street, Ballarat East VIC 3350

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This unique property in regional Victoria is too cool for school.

There is nothing else for sale like 18b Barkly Street, Ballarat East – a former schoolhouse and now a three-bedroom home that has to be seen to be believed.

The rustic, bohemian-style property, built in 1910, has been reimagined as a New York loft, and has price hopes of $750,000 to $825,000.

If it were in a hip, inner-Melbourne suburb such as Richmond or Brunswick, buyers could expect to see at least an extra $1 million on the price.

“It is such an opportunity at this price point,” says agent Natalie Fagan of Belle Property Daylesford.

“It is genuinely an organic, raw opportunity for somebody to do something which will become an icon of Ballarat.”

An elevated, central “pod” in the colossal main hall contains the bedrooms – one downstairs and two above, facing a mezzanine balcony.

All around are flexible spaces with concertina walls that create an individual, ever-moving floor plan, beneath immense, ornate beams. 

A relaxed, vintage aesthetic pervades, inviting buyers who can see themselves playing music in one corner, sipping wine with friends in another, and later retiring to the privacy of their pod. 

There is ample space for paintings and sculptures. 

“What’s so lovely about it is that it is ripe for somebody to do something spectacular,” Fagan says.

The vendors are also selling the former Methodist church next door at 18a Barkly Street, which was transformed into a luxury home under the careful stewardship of architect James Jamison of Niimori Jamison. It has a guide of $1.988 million.

“When the vendors took the schoolhouse over, it was essentially as you see it now,” Fagan says. “They have done some minor repairs, including repainting weatherboards and resealing the floor – touch-ups, really. They lived here while they renovated the church next door, which took them four years.”

The property presents as a creative haven, but it could also have a commercial use.

Fagan says there was council development approval for a cafe at the front and a residence at the rear, which has since expired. “It has huge potential because of the zoning,” she says.

Buyers expressing interest include investors and those who intend to live in it now while planning its future.

As unique and jaw-dropping as the campaign photos are, the scope and old-world charm of the property have to be experienced in person.

“Inspections really are invited, because it feels so beautiful when you’re in there,” Fagan says.

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