Springmount’s The Tangled Maze will soon become a therapy farm after Child and Family Services (CAFS) Ballarat purchased the property at auction on Friday.
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The popular tourist and wedding venue near Creswick sold for just over $1 million, what Colliers International auctioneer Andrew Lewis described as a “price you wouldn’t be able to put it back together for”.
The Tangled Maze cancelled pre-booked weddings and closed its doors to tourists after declaring bankruptcy in September.
“We wouldn’t put the property here again for the same sort of money, so to that extent it is disappointing. But it sold for the sort of price expectation we had and we had two competing bidders, so it was a fantastic result,” Mr Lewis said.
Colliers International senior executive Charles Kennedy said there had been a strong interest in The Tangled Maze property from a wide variety of buyers.
CAFS made the final bid of $1,010,000 at auction and the sale was officially announced after the community service organisation accepted the reserve price.
“They came to us during the marketing campaign and explained they had actively been out looking for a therapy farm for their clients to engage in,” Mr Kennedy said.
“We had a number of inspections by the executive team and by the board members and I think they felt this would be a perfect combination of having a therapy farm, as well as a venue that they can derive an income from through the tourist side and the wedding side. It was a great opportunity for them and it is going to be a really exciting opportunity for their clients.”
The 1000-square metre building at the venue has the capacity to host up to 200 guests. The property includes an 18-hole mini golf course, bocce courts, outdoor entertainment options, and an indoor ice skating rink within landscaped gardens.
The decision in September to close the venue left devastated couples out of pocket and frantically re-booking their weddings.
Mr Kennedy said it was exciting to see the buyers reconnect the venue with the local community.
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