AN eyesore in the heart of Wodonga is set to be beautified with the city's council leasing the Junction Place site for a dollar.
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The council has moved to adopt the former car yard on High Street, opposite Mann Central, from Development Victoria after being faced with it remaining undeveloped for a decade.
Council chief executive Mark Dixon said the city was keen to enliven that area, given the boost brought to the old railway precinct by the new Richardson Park opened last March in the front of the former train station.
"It's pretty ugly, our plan is to landscape that and make it an open, nice beautified space for people to enjoy," Mr Dixon said.
"Eventually that could get developed through Development Victoria, but it's the last piece of their development, so I don't think it will get developed for 10 years.
"So rather than have it ugly for 10 years we've taken a peppercorn lease off Development Victoria for a $1 and we're just going to beautify it and make it a usable nice space."
Mr Dixon anticipates work on landscaping the area will occur after the inaugural Upstream Festival of Art + Culture which will run from March 6 to 9.
Junction Square will be an integral site for performances during the cross border event, hosting the 100-seat Alkazar tent which will accommodate comedy, dance, cabaret and music.
"We'd like to do (work) early in the new year, but we're conscious of Upstream, our big event, so we'll probably do those works as soon as Upstream is finished," Mr Dixon said.
"If we could have done it before and ready for Upstream we would have done but we haven't gone to tender."
At the time Gold Point Motors closed, licensed motor dealer John Van Holten said the value of the property and exceeded what he could pay in rent.
"I reckon I could have stayed for two more years, but once they finish building over the road (at Mann Central) and the place becomes a central hub of activity, I will get kicked out because someone will want to buy it," he said in April 2015.
Since that time, in addition to Mann Central, the nearby Woolworths supermarket corner block has been redeveloped and the former and the old railway goods shed has been reinvented as a food and beer hub.
