Following “a fair bit of interest” being shown in the Grand Hotel building and adjacent former café, Cobar Shire Council has decided to call for Expressions Of Interest (EOI) to test the market’s appetite for the site.
The matter of the development and sale of what could be a grand opportunity in the main street was discussed at last week’s Ordinary Council Meeting.
Council purchased the two main street buildings late in 2023 as part of their vision to upgrade the main street paying $550,000, which Council’s General Manager Peter Vlatko said at the time was “a good price”.
Mr Vlatko, who has had a focus on street beautification during his tenure over the past 10 years as the general manager, had pushed for the purchase of the vacant and neglected Grand Hotel and neighbouring former café in the main street saying they had been an eyesore for a number of years.
Following the purchase by Council, the external façade was repainted in August 2024 as the first step to restoring the 1898 building to some of its former glory. The ‘Grand Can’ on the verandah was also given a new Tooheys wrap a few months later and, earlier this year, historic information about the grand old Grand was added to its windows and doors.
In February 2025, Cobar Shire received almost $3.5 million in grant funding to deliver design and planning works for the Grand Precinct, a project which would transform the town’s CBD, with the Grand Hotel to be at the centrepiece of the plan.
Mayor Jarrod Marsden spoke to the motion before Council last week and said it had been “triggered” after Council staff had received a number of phone calls and expressions of informal interest in the buildings.
“Before we go spending money from that grant that we were given to prepare plans for one option for the Grand Hotel, the staff and myself thought that it was prudent that we bring this to you tonight,” Mayor Marsden said.
“To go out for EOI, based on the interest that’s been shown so far, that there may be someone that may want to come in and do something with that site outside of the grant funding that we’ve been given.
“And indeed, might even purchase and take on those lots and do something that we haven’t planned for yet or spent money on yet.”
The two buildings occupy a prominent location in the town centre and present an opportunity for private sector investment.
Their redevelopment could help address accommodation shortages, support economic development and enhance the appearance of the CBD.
Following a discussion, Councillors resolved to invite EOIs from suitably qualified proponents for the purchase and redevelopment of the former Grand Hotel and adjacent shop.
Council’s general manager Peter Vlatko said calling for EOIs would give Council a clearer understanding of potential developers’ plans, proposed timeframes and the benefits their projects could bring to the community.
“And by having an EOIs, it gives the Council an opportunity to see those before we actually go to a contract of sale,” Mr Vlatko said.
Council is keen to hear from developers with proposals that support CBD activation, tourism, accommodation, hospitality, retail, commercial activity, mixed-use development, and other outcomes that will deliver a long-term community benefit.
