A BIG project has become even bigger for Tremain’s Mill owner Steve Birrell now that he has bought the pub next door.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Birrell has plans for an overhaul of the landmark Victoria Hotel in Keppel Street after it came up for sale at the right time.
He and Glenda Deans bought the sprawling 8522 square metre Tremain’s Mill site in 2015 and are planning a complete redevelopment that will eventually include a milling museum, visitor accommodation, serviced apartments, function centre and public plaza.
READ MORE: Scaffolding coming down, trees going in
It’s possible new retailers will be operating in the Victoria Stores building facing Keppel Street by Christmas and trees will soon be planted in what is set to be the mill site’s landscaped public plaza.
In the meantime, though, Mr Birrell has added to his landholdings in lower Keppel Street by buying the Victoria.
“It’s another chapter in the redevelopment of this end of Keppel Street,” he said.
“It [the hotel’s makeover] will make this end of the street really pop.”
Mr Birrell said he had considered buying the Victoria some time ago, “but it was much too expensive because it had poker machines”.
“We weren't interested in that side of the business,” he said.
When the hotel came up for sale again recently without the poker machine licences, Mr Birrell said he was now “in the ball park to buy it”.
He said he and Ms Deans want to bring the pub into their plans for the Tremain’s Mill site.
”We’re looking to split it [the Victoria] into three: a really funky bar or tavern; a good restaurant and good chef; and a boutique hotel for accommodation,” he said.
He also hopes to uncover the Victoria Hotel’s history and its place in the early days of Bathurst.
“When the railway first came to town, this would have been the main street,” he said of Keppel Street.
The announcement of the purchase of the Victoria Hotel continues an eventful few weeks for Tremain’s Mill.
The NSW Government announced earlier this month that the mill would receive a $100,000 grant to go towards the cost of demolishing a building on the site to make way for a public amenities block.
As well, the board of directors for the Australian Milling Museum planned for the site was announced last week. It includes Professor Paul Ashton, Professor of Public History at the University of Technology, Sydney.
