College purchases adjoining house and land

St Patrick’s College is excited to announce it has purchased the residence at 1435 Sturt St.

For decades, the privately-owned property was surrounded on three fences by College-owned land.

The 2,195-square-metre block was the only land bounded by Sturt, Wanliss, Russell, Alfred and Eyre Sts that was not College-owned.

“The purchase historically completes the final piece of the puzzle which the Christian Brothers commenced in 1893 with what then was known as Holy Ghost College and represents a significant historic opportunity to control the entire block in perpetuity,” Acting Principal Mr Stephen Hill said.

The property is a single storey, brick residential five-bedroom home built in 1890 with a detached garage and a substantial yard positioned between the College’s Chapel to the east and our new Boarding Precinct to the west.

With this most recent purchase the College now owns over 11 hectares of land in the heart of Ballarat.

The College’s Business Manager, Mr Andrew Ballesty, noted that “St Patrick’s has long desired the opportunity to acquire this historic building which had been owned by the same well-respected Ballarat family for many decades.”

“This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the College to expand its footprint and we could not allow that chance to pass,” Mr Ballesty said.

Mr Hill said the purchase had the full support of the College’s governing body, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA ) and had also been approved by the College’s School Advisory Council and Finance Committee.

“Importantly, thanks to sustained strong financial management, this purchase will not impact our already adopted Master Plan and our plans to construct a new Multi-Purpose Facility on site in the coming years continue,” Mr Hill said.

“It really is an incredibly exciting time to be involved with St Patrick’s College with so many amazing new developments set to occur in the coming years.”