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Rearguard action seeks to halt Don Bosco closure

Mark Phillips

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The Don Bosco complex in Sydney Road could deliver a windfall of up to $20 million to its Catholic Church owners when it is sold next month. 

The heritage-listed property, which occupies most of a block near the corner of Albion Street, was officially put on the market by the Salesians of Don Bosco last week.

But with the Don Bosco Youth Centre holding fond memories for many long-time residents, an online petition has been launched in an attempt to retain the property as a community asset.

The property is being offered as vacant possession and will be sold by expressions of interest which close on August 20. It is the first time the 2971 square metre property has ever been put on the market in the 87 years it has been known as the Don Bosco Hostel and Youth Centre.

Described as “a rare landmark Brunswick freehold opportunity” with “strategic repositioning potential”, the site includes a 30 room hostel and other residential facilities including a commercial kitchen, offices, a chapel, a multipurpose basketball court and a swimming pool. Three retail tenancies are also included in the property.

But with zoning for up to eight levels under the state government’s business activity centre planning controls, it is most likely to be attractive to a developer particularly because of its 74 metre frontage along Sydney Road and additional frontages in Tinning Street and Prowse Street.

However, any future development plans could be complicated by a heritage overlay.

The transaction could break property records in Sydney Road, surpassing the $17 million price tag for the slightly larger Brunswick Market site in 2020.

A neighbouring property on the corner of Albion Street – now occupied by the recently opened El Jannah restaurant – sold for $4.4 million – or about $5500 per square metre – in 2024.

At the value, the Don Bosco site would be worth about $16.4 million.

Selling agent Dominic Gibson from Melbourne Acquisitions declined to answer any questions from Brunswick Voice about the sale, while the head of the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians, Father Peter Hoang, had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

The Salesians have been quoted elsewhere as saying the decision to sell followed a strategic review of its portfolio which identified the property as an underutilised asset.

More than 3000 people have signed the petition which was launched on Tuesday and calls on Merri-bek Council and the state government “to urgently work together to find a way to ensure this centre remains part of the fabric of our community”.

“Families come from well beyond Brunswick for this, because there’s very little else like it anywhere nearby, free or low-cost, for young people,” says organiser Jeremy Zylberberg.

“If it closes, that gap won’t be filled somewhere else. It will just disappear.”

These sentiments have been echoed by dozens of comments on the petition and on social media, many of them sharing memories of using the centre when they were young.

In an election year, candidates for the seat of Brunswick have also been quick to show their concern about the loss of a much-loved community asset.

Labor candidate Gabe Steger said it was highly disappointing to see the site put up for sale.

“I’ll engage closely on the future of Don Bosco and I am keen to work with the community to ensure its future is given the attention it deserves,” he said.

Greens candidate Adam Pulford said he and other Merri-bek councillors would seek to work with the government for a way to keep the building in community hands.

The land on which Don Bosco complex sits was originally a pasta factory run by one of the earliest Italian immigrants to settle in Brunswick, Sebastian Danelli, who arrived in the area in the early-1850s. It is believed to be possibly the first pasta operation in Victoria.

Brunswick Community History Group president Elisabeth Jackson said Danelli’s family bequeathed the property to the Catholic Church which opened the Don Bosco Hostel in the early-1940s as a home for Catholic boys and young men from rural Victoria who came to Melbourne to study or work.

A contemporary article from the Catholic newspaper The Advocate reported that the foundation stone was laid on January 31, 1940 after three sisters in the Danelli family handed the property over to the Salesians the previous November. The article said a 50-bed hostel for “working boys” would be built on the site.

It opened in May 1940 with an initial 25 beds.

An entry on the Victorian Heritage Database says the hostel is of historical and architectural significance although its Spanish Mission elements have been diminished by alterations over time. According to Don Bosco’s website, the hostel is currently at full capacity.

The present day youth centre, which is popular for its trampolines, basketball courts, table tennis and other games and regularly hosts children’s birthday parties was considered a trailblazer when it first opened. It was rebuilt after a fire in the late 1970s.

The Don Bosco website says about 1200 children attend the centre each week. 

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