A historic site at Gerringong nearly doubled its reserve price under the hammer earlier this week.
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The site of Australia's longest-running dairy co-op, located at 18 Belinda Street, Gerringong, sold for $2.25 million at auction.
The commercial building had a reserve price of $1.13 million.
The 4385sqm site last sold in 2014 for $950,000.
Selling agent, The Agency's Jordan Andonovski said the 17 bidders vying for the property this week included plenty of Sydney investors.
"There's a lot of opportunity with the site - great location, and the scope of what could be done there is endless really," Mr Andonovski said.
The site is zoned B7 Business Park with an objective to provide office and light industrial uses.
Mr Andonovski said the sheds on the site were heritage listed.
David Phillips, an investment banker at wealth management firm Investec was the successful bidder.
Mr Phillips and wife Charlene Dawson, who split time between Sydney and Gerringong, purchased it in partnership with local hospitality operators the Matters family, who run The Hill Bar & Kitchen and Gather restaurants.
Mr Phillips told the Mercury they were drawn to the site because it "feels almost like the last uncut diamond here on the South Coast".
"It's raw at the moment, but it just reeks of opportunity if somebody puts the right attention into it," he said.
"The idea would be to create a destination for people to come to... I think it could be the sort of place where people want to get in their cars and drive from Sydney to visit, just like they come and visit Berry or the Kiama Blowhole."
Mr Phillips said they had "ideas rather than plans" for the site's future.
"We like the idea of being able to host weddings, receptions, functions and maybe conferences. There's such a big space it lends itself to it.
"But I think it'll be a multi-use site where they'll be lots of things that will draw people to it."
The Gerringong Co-Operative Dairy Society began operations in a timber building on the site of the present Mayflower Retirement Village, and transferred to 18 Belinda Street in 1908.
The larger building was first erected on-site in circa early 1900s, while the second building was established on-site at a later date.
The two buildings remain in original condition.
Gerringong Dairy was the oldest continually-operating dairy co-operative in Australia until it closed its doors in 2000.
Since then the building has had many uses including a storage facility for a furniture store.
In 2017, the historic dairy co-op was transformed into a distillery.
However, the site has been vacant for a couple of years, after the business located there folded.
The site was later listed for mortgagee sale.
According to the records of the Office of Environment and Heritage, the Gerringong Dairy is historically significant "for its ability to illustrate the development of the dairy industry in the local area during the 1930s".
The story - The former Gerringong Dairy Distillery, at 18 Belinda Street, Gerringong has sold first appeared on the Illawarra Mercury.