Four-wheel drive business ARB shifting to prominent South Albury block

The land, facing Wodonga Place and Nurigong Street, has been empty for decades but work has begun to house ARB 4x4 Accessories, which is moving from its Albury shop in Hume Street.

Branch manager Michael Bruce said it had been hoped the new premises would be open by July but the aim was now to be trading at the fresh location by Christmas.

"I'm looking forward to moving in, it's going to be a big move because we've got a lot of stock to move in," Mr Bruce said.

The $2.7 million development will see a building of 2400 square metres constructed on the land, which is bordered by the Paddlesteamer Motel to the north.

Mr Bruce said that compared to an existing 800 square metre premises.

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"Currently we've got five work bays, the new one is going to have 10," he said.

The expansion is expected to result in another five staff being added to the workforce of 11.

The shift to a new location follows a Twin Cities search over the past five or six years with ARB purchasing the land over two years ago.

"ARB was looking for something that was central, central to Albury but also central between Wodonga and Albury and we were looking for a major road frontage," Mr Bruce said.

"We'd probably looked at a dozen different places between Albury and Wodonga until I sent them through the information on this one which ticked all the boxes for what we wanted."

Given its prominence as a key entry point for Albury, the city council stressed to ARB and its planners the need to have an attractive design.

"ARB originally put the plans in and the council came back and we had to change certain things, so we could meet the development approval for the area," Mr Bruce said.

That included the height of a large sign outside the shop being reduced in height and landscaping measures.

Before World War II the area was used for market gardens with digging uncovering six wells which have been preserved through additional foundation works.

More recently it was home to a plaster business with some small spots of asbestos contamination needing to be cleaned up.

ARB bought its Albury business from John Harris in 2007 for more than $3 million after he and wife Anne established it in 1993 under the name Hume Exhaust and Towbars and 4WD.

At that time, Mr Harris told The Border Mail it had begun with four staff and had grown to nine and a multi-million dollar turnover.

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