At the September Council meeting, Latrobe City Council unanimously resolved to sell Hazelwood House, 59-94 Philip Parade, Churchill to Quantum Support Services.
Quantum’s proposal aims to use the land to provide affordable and sustainable medium-term accommodation for homeless and disadvantaged youth from the Gippsland region.
At its meeting on Monday 6 June 2022, Council unanimously proposed to sell the building to Quantum Support Services and opened a public submission process.
Council invited public comment on the proposed sale, undertaking a period of community engagement including a Drop-in engagement session at the Churchill HUB, attended by Quantum, and an Online Listening Post allowing Council to hear community submissions.
A total of 27 Public Submissions were received, 11 in support of the proposed sale to Quantum, seven against the sale and nine did not clearly state their position on the proposed sale.
Council’s endorsement of the sale of Hazelwood House considered the viability and sustainability of Quantum, including their experience and track record, in addition to the economic, social and community benefits.
As part of the decision, Council has proposed to allocate the sale proceeds to Council projects that will benefit the Churchill and District community, to acknowledge the contribution of the community to the establishment of Hazelwood House. This will be conducted through a separate process, at a later stage, following the sale process.
Background
Hazelwood House sits on over 3.9 hectares of land in the growing Churchill community. The property was developed by the community to provide an opportunity for local people to age in place. It operated until late 2019 as a residential aged care facility, at which time its size and age rendered it unviable. Latrobe City Council agreed to purchase the site in April 2020 and remove the covenants that restrict the site to aged care and retirement purposes.
Council went through an Expression of Interest process in July 2021 to find a suitable buyer for the property, which resulted in two submissions. The submissions were reviewed by Council officers against a range of criteria to understand the overall economic, social and community benefits.