Festival Hall, Melbourne’s legendary music venue that hosted packed houses for the Beatles, Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra, was sold « by The Grace of God » to Hillsong Church for $ 23 million dollars
In a video posted on Sunday to Hillsong’s YouTube channel, church founder Brian Houston told his congregation, “By the grace of God we were able to buy the village hall.”
The Melbourne Festival Hall, built in 1915, was destroyed by fire in 1955 and rebuilt a year later in time for the OlympicsCredit: Justin McManus
The transaction, but not the buyer, has been confirmed by West Melbourne property sales agents, Colliers International, with title records indicating the transaction settled on October 16 for $ 23,375,000
The large single story hall originally built in 1915 was destroyed by fire in 1955 and rebuilt a year later in time for the Olympics More recently, artists such as Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Powderfinger played it
It was also known as the House of Stoush, with some of the biggest names in boxing – Lionel Rose, Johnny Famechon and Anthony Mundine – gracing the ring inside
The listed buyer of the Dudley Street venue is Community Venues Limited, which Mr. Houston, was an entity created by the church to use Festival Hall as a base for Melbourne
M Houston said the hope is to renovate the place and Hillsong will be the main tenant
« Hillsong will be the primary tenant – we will continue to run it as a community venue, » he said The Christian mega church is known for its lively worship and use of rock music during services. / p>
Matt Stagg, Dave Walker and Daniel Wolman des Colliers negotiated the M deal Stagg said a consortium of media and entertainment groups initially signed a contract to purchase the property, but the deal fell through in March due to the coronavirus pandemic
« Colliers then quickly placed the sub-bidder on due diligence, which was successful and finally settled in October 2020, » he said
In 2018, the site obtained permanent heritage protection, protecting it from demolition and development plans, including the construction of apartments on the site
Emma reports on healthcare companies for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald She is based in Melbourne
Hillsong Church UK, Festival Hall, Melbourne, Brian Houston
World News – UA – « By the grace of God »: Festival Hall sells at Hillsong Church for 23 million of dollars
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
