The 11,075 sq m site, sitting on 9.2 hectares and listed for $4.95 million through Colliers and Gagliardi Scott Real Estate, is set to be purchased by overseas investors.
The sale is yet to be settled and further details, including the purchase price and the buyers' intended use for the site, have not been made public.
Country News understands that the site will be repurposed as a food manufacturing and processing facility.
Colliers managing director for Bendigo Travis Hurst, who is listing the property, said the sale marks a vote of confidence for regional manufacturing.
“It’s a great example of repurposing a site, giving it a new lease of life.”
The prospective new owners are understood to have already met with members of the Girgarre community to discuss plans for the property.
When finalised, the sale will mark a new chapter for a site that has sat largely dormant since Heinz closed its operation in January 2012, a decision that cost 146 local jobs and ended the company's 70 years of tomato processing in Australia.
The factory, which began life as a butter and cheese plant before Heinz took it over, has since been used intermittently for recycling and organic waste processing.
Campaspe Shire Councillor Adrian Weston said that any use of the facility would be a welcome boost for the town.
“This site has been sitting empty for many years, any opportunity for it to be put to use is a good outcome for the Girgarre community and the region,” Cr Weston said.
For a town of about 560 people, the sale is being welcomed as a strong future employment opportunity.
Alongside the existing solar farm and major ACM processing facility in the town, the factory would help consolidate Girgarre with a genuine employment base, something not always guaranteed in small towns.
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