Rochester’s former Saputo dairy factory could soon have a new lease on life — with several industries looking at the substantial Moore St site.
The property has been on the market through Colliers for almost four months, with an asking price of $3.25 million.
Colliers managing director for Bendigo Travis Hurst said interest in the site had come from a range of potential buyers, including a logistics group, food manufacturer and agricultural operators.
A separate source confirmed the building had been sold to a global business with foreign ownership — with the factory’s dairy processing equipment being stripped from the site.
The source said the decision was linked to Saputo not wanting competitors to benefit from the existing dairy processing equipment.
The buyer is understood to have acquired the property specifically with the intention of removing it and selling it on the global market.
While the site is no longer considered viable as a dairy processing facility, Mr Hurst said its existing infrastructure could make it suitable for a new industry.
“The building and the infrastructure of the factory are all perfectly usable,” he said.
“The gas and electrical systems, storm drains and loading ramps can all be re-utilised for a new industry, but it won’t be for dairy.”
The Saputo dairy operation ended in 2018, leaving a large industrial site with substantial infrastructure available for redevelopment.
Mr Hurst said prospective buyers had recognised the potential to transform the site and bring new jobs back to Rochester.
“The commercial reality is the factory is not viable as a dairy factory anymore,” he said.
“There’s not enough dairy in the area to sustain it, but that doesn’t mean it won’t welcome a new industry.”
He said the prospect of repurposing the site was one of the reasons it remained attractive to prospective buyers.
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