THE final piece of the St Patrick's College jigsaw is complete with the school announcing the purchase of a property adjoining the Sturt Street school.
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A 2195sqm block at 1435 Sturt Street has long been coveted by the school, having sat in the same family for generations.
The land comes complete with an historic 1890 five-bedroom residence has been snapped up by the school.
MARCH 2020: House of the week, 1435 Sturt Street
It features a detached garage and a substantial yard positioned between the College's Chapel to the east and our new boarding precinct to the west.
While the school would not divulge the price it paid, the property had been on the market for a number of months with an asking price of $1.95 million to $2.1 million.
It is expected the property will remain a residence for sometime.
"The purchase historically completes the final piece of the puzzle which the Christian Brothers commenced in 1893 with what then was known as Holy Ghost College and represents a significant historic opportunity to control the entire block in perpetuity," Acting Principal Stephen Hill said.
Mr Hill said the purchase had the full support of the college's governing body, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) and had also been approved by the College's School Advisory Council and Finance Committee.
"Importantly, thanks to sustained strong financial management, this purchase will not impact our already adopted masterplan and our plans to construct a new Multi-Purpose Facility on site in the coming years continue," Mr Hill said.
"It really is an incredibly exciting time to be involved with St Patrick's College with so many amazing new developments set to occur in the coming years."
This purchase now means St Patrick's now owns over 11 hectares of land across central Ballarat.
St Patrick's Business Manager Andrew Ballesty, said this had long been coveted by the school
"St Patrick's has long desired the opportunity to acquire this historic building which had been owned by the same well-respected Ballarat family for many decades."
"This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the College to expand its footprint and we could not allow that chance to pass," Mr Ballesty said.
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