SIXTY-ONE years after its most famous resident, prime minister Ben Chifley, died there, the historic Hotel Kurrajong is being sold.
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The four-star, heritage-listed hotel is expected to fetch about $10 million at auction next month.
The Art Deco building on a 16,426-square metre block of prime land in Barton is being sold by the ACT government. Colliers International agent Paul Powderly said the government had been leasing the property to a hospitality school for several years.
The list of heritage restrictions did allow for some changes to the interior of the 86-year-old building but the gardens outside had to retain their well-kept look, he said. ''It will be good for Canberra because it will add more hotel rooms to the market,'' he said.
Designed in 1924 by John Smith Murdoch, the Hotel Kurrajong is a fine example of early Commonwealth architecture, influenced by the Prairie style of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and the visionary planner of Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin, the hotel's website says.