By Parker McKenzie
The Salvation Army has yet to receive an offer or expression of interest on a historical block of land in The Basin.
Representatives from the Salvation Army confirmed as of Friday 29 April there had yet to be an offer or a formal expression of interest on the land located at 49 Basin-Olinda Road, the Basin.
In November, advertising was published in Melbourne newspapers seeking expressions of interest for “possible strategic development and/or transactions or partnership options for the subject property.”
One major roadblock for any potential development is the zoning of the land, with it falling outside the Urban Growth Boundary. Any changes to the zoning laws would require majority approval from both houses of State Parliament.
The land was originally owned by David Dobson, the second European settler in the area. In February 1897, Mr Dobson sold the majority of the property the Salvation Army, who gradually purchased adjacent properties.
The land was used as a home for neglected or parentless boys over the age of 14. In 2015, during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, former residents of the Bayswater Boys Home in the Basin gave testimony of sexual abuse and physical assaults they endured at the home.
The property is currently used by the Salvation Army as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.
