ALBURY’S 1934 ambulance station will be put up for sale as soon as paramedics move into their new Lavington home.
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The eventual sale price will contribute to the cost of building the $4 million Wagga Road station.
NSW Ambulance said the sale would actually be handled by the NSW Ministry of Health.
Paramedics are expected to move into the purpose-built new station within weeks.
Albury Heritage Trust president David Lonergan said he hoped the old station would not be demolished by whoever bought the building.
“Ideally I would like to see the building re-purposed, retaining as much of the original building as possible,” he said.
“Obviously there’s some shedding out the back that wouldn’t be useful.”
Mr Lonergan said there were many possibilities for the building, including the refurbishment and reconfiguration for offices, a restaurant or even apartments.
“As it stands now it’s still a fairly impressive building,” he said.
“It’s been there for more than 80 years and it has served the community well — that in itself has been extremely important.
“And the building’s architecture adds to the streetscape, it helps provide the character that makes Dean Street such a beautiful street.”
Mr Lonergan said it would not take a great deal of imagination to reconfigure such a building.
“You’ve just got to be willing to take the risk,” he said.
“Other cities around the world have done it through saving their buildings.
“Sometimes the building isn’t practical so they’ll at least keep the facade, or merge these into other buildings.
“But they always try to find a way to save the building before they simply level it.”
Mr Lonergan said the group would be keeping an interested watch on what happened.
“A lot of people in Albury will be interested to see what eventually happens with it and hoping that whoever does buy it decides to keep it,” he said.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said although the old station had served the community well for 80 years, “it’s time to be replaced”.
“The new station will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ambulance service delivery,” Mr Lonergan said.
“It will not only improve response times, it will allow for more paramedics and vehicles and ensure staff have much improved facilities when carrying out their daily duties.
“It is expected the current station will be sold when the new station is ready for paramedics to move in.”
